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I am a bit perplexed by the "new technology": >The students created a smartphone app, called Virtual Traffic Stop, that allows him to do just that. After the o

by jaclaz 9y ago

I am a bit perplexed by the "new technology": >The students created a smartphone app, called Virtual Traffic Stop, that allows him to do just that. After the officer pulls a driver to the side of the road, he would use the app to start a video chat with the driver as a first point of contact, allowing him to observe whether the driver seemed mentally ill or dangerous, notice clues in the interior of the vehicle and review identification documents. Just to name one, I don't have usually a smartphone, or a switched on smartphone, when driving, and the police officer should have a way to find and call my phone number, which not necessarily is linked to the car license plate. And this data would be interesting: >In some cities, when you roll through a stoplight, a camera catches you in the act, and a few weeks later you receive a ticket in the mail. Data suggests that this automatic system is far cheaper than “human” ticketing and reduces pedestrian deaths. And a camera can’t kill people. Undoubtedly it is cheaper, the point is how much it contributes to safety. I confess that I received one of those tickets (the fact that a large number of people received one since seemingly the municipality put the camera and shortened to the bare legal minimum - possibly even less than that - the yellow light time is another thing). Frankly after 2 1/2 months I didn't even remember to have gone through that particular traffic light/intersection, I paid the fine and that was it. By contrast a couple of times that police stopped me, even if they at the end resolved to not fine me, they "stopped my driving" right there, so if I was doing something - if not illegal - "border line" with dangerous they actually prevented me from continuing doing it, by forcefully inserting a "pause".

Anechoic 9y ago
>Just to name one, I don't have usually a smartphone, or a switched on smartphone, when driving, and the police officer should have a way to find and call my phone number, which not necessarily is linked to the car license plate. Sure it's a flawed idea, but may result in better ideas. For example, what about integrating that technology into the car itself? Yeah there are problems to be overcome (doesn't help with cars already out on the road, needs to account for spoofing and 4th Amendment considerations), but it is an interesting direction.
- jaclaz 9y ago
  I don't think that those aspects you mention, i.e. retrofitting existing cars, spoofing/hacking of the devices and 4th amendment (or similar privacy Laws where applicable) issues are so trifling. The idea in itself may be good but the technology hypothized seems "way off". I would find more doable that police corps were issued a remotely contolled camera (think of a small robot or drone) capable of crawling (or flying) in front of the windshield of the stopped car and show to the officer the inside.
  - kybernetikos 9y ago
    Yeah, this seems like a good idea and pretty doable. Every police car could have a drone that would be useful in a variety of situations. In a traffic stop, it could take off from the roof of the police car and land on the windscreen of the stopped car. A small screen can relay instructions to the driver while he is filmed. With the prices of quite powerful drones coming down so dramatically, this might even be a cost effective way to save lives, while at the same time giving police an extra tool for lots of situations, not just traffic stops. I wonder if there's business potential in making roof mounted drones that can land on windshields. Ideally, it could also record sound by latching onto the windshield and detecting vibrations with some sort of contact or laser microphone but I'm not sure how realistic that would be (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00542-015-2795-x https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00542-015-2795-x looks like a start).
    - jaclaz 9y ago
      I was thinking more along the lines of something like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hornet_Nano https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hornet_Nano Or of the micro-bugs/robot spiders in Minority Report, I mean the idea is that the police officer can see inside the (already stopped) car, to give orders he/she can shout or use the microphone and loudspeaker, that all patrol cars have, I believe, in the US. There is always an issue with language, maybe, but the idea of the small screen with text assumes that the stopped driver can see it properly (imagine an older chap that reaches for his spectacles ...).

by jaclaz 9y ago

Anechoic 9y ago

>Just to name one, I don't have usually a smartphone, or a switched on smartphone, when driving, and the police officer should have a way to find and call my phone number, which not necessarily is linked to the car license plate. Sure it's a flawed idea, but may result in better ideas. For example, what about integrating that technology into the car itself? Yeah there are problems to be overcome (doesn't help with cars already out on the road, needs to account for spoofing and 4th Amendment considerations), but it is an interesting direction.

jaclaz 9y ago
I don't think that those aspects you mention, i.e. retrofitting existing cars, spoofing/hacking of the devices and 4th amendment (or similar privacy Laws where applicable) issues are so trifling. The idea in itself may be good but the technology hypothized seems "way off". I would find more doable that police corps were issued a remotely contolled camera (think of a small robot or drone) capable of crawling (or flying) in front of the windshield of the stopped car and show to the officer the inside.
- kybernetikos 9y ago
  Yeah, this seems like a good idea and pretty doable. Every police car could have a drone that would be useful in a variety of situations. In a traffic stop, it could take off from the roof of the police car and land on the windscreen of the stopped car. A small screen can relay instructions to the driver while he is filmed. With the prices of quite powerful drones coming down so dramatically, this might even be a cost effective way to save lives, while at the same time giving police an extra tool for lots of situations, not just traffic stops. I wonder if there's business potential in making roof mounted drones that can land on windshields. Ideally, it could also record sound by latching onto the windshield and detecting vibrations with some sort of contact or laser microphone but I'm not sure how realistic that would be (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00542-015-2795-x https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00542-015-2795-x looks like a start).
  - jaclaz 9y ago
    I was thinking more along the lines of something like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hornet_Nano https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hornet_Nano Or of the micro-bugs/robot spiders in Minority Report, I mean the idea is that the police officer can see inside the (already stopped) car, to give orders he/she can shout or use the microphone and loudspeaker, that all patrol cars have, I believe, in the US. There is always an issue with language, maybe, but the idea of the small screen with text assumes that the stopped driver can see it properly (imagine an older chap that reaches for his spectacles ...).