5 ms·
You'd likely lose a lot of money trying to do that, you're vastly underestimating the cost of maintaining the data network for that kind of installation alone,
by xnorswap 4y ago
You'd likely lose a lot of money trying to do that, you're vastly underestimating the cost of maintaining the data network for that kind of installation alone, even before looking at the cost of physical installation.
- londons_explore 4y agoIf it's a bargain, take me up on the offer then.
- uoaei 4y agoThat's not how the market works.
- n4r9 4y agoIt absolutely is a bargain. I don't have the money or time to risk but I strongly recommend that you start a company, build a website and advertise your service to the world. I'm assuming you'll also deal with any regulatory and data protection issues, get permission from local authorities etc... . You've found an astonishing gap in the market, it seems.
- gus_massa 4y ago> get permission from local authorities For some reason I guess the business plan was about forgetting to get the permits...
- generalizations 4y agoOk, I'll bite. How would you do that? How do they stay connected and powered?
- mschuster91 4y agoSolar panels, probably.
- dagw 4y agoYou'll either have to do this guerrilla style, in which case solar panels will be far too obvious. Or you'll have to apply for all relevant permits, in which case you'll never get them.
- cronix 4y agoPermits? We're not talking a solar farm to power a small device. There are a lot of trail cams that have solar built in, are very small, camouflaged, and motion activated with 20MP cameras for under $200.
- dagw 4y agoWe're talking about filming major roads here. "Motion activated" effectively means running 24/7. No way a built in solar panel in a camouflaged trail camera will manage that. Also it doesn't matter how small the device is, if you legally want to attach a camera to any sort of infrastructure overlooking a road, then yes you need permits you almost certainly will not get. You could possibly attach it to a pole on private land next to the road, but even then you'd need the permission of the land owner.
- cronix 4y agoI suppose it depends on the jurisdiction. For instance, some courts, like the 9th District Court of Appeals have ruled that cities can't remove homeless camping on public property. Public forests are public, and there's lots of trail cams. https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/court-ruling-homless-sleep-public/ https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/court-ruling-homless...
- kube-system 4y agoForcibly moving living people and removing unattended property are entirely different scenarios.
- doublerabbit 4y agoWithin the UK, 4G sim cards and data are cheap. Android phone with tether capabilities, Raspberry Pi with solar and a webcam. Or even better to save all that faff, root a phone, run the drivers plate OCR software using the phones camera, stick to a gantry and send results via text message. You wouldn't even need live updates, pull the latest data at midnight each day. Text is cheap.
- arethuza 4y agoI suspect the computing and communication parts of a project like this are by far the easiest bits. Weatherproofing the camera and solar panels, getting permission to get them installed, actually installing them (working at heights over busy roads) and then maintaining them would be pretty expensive. You might also have to pay rent to whoever owns gantries, and what about locations where there aren't any existing gantries? What about insurance in case you camera falls off the gantry onto a car and kills someone? Edit: What about roads that don't have network coverage (not that uncommon in the Scottish Highlands)
- londons_explore 4y agoYou wouldn't get permission. Just walk with a phone+solar panel in a weatherproof box. Either use magnets or zip ties to tie to the the pedestrian rail of a bridge overlooking a freeway. Done. I would likely order some chinaphone motherboards only - for example[1] - without the screen+case+accessories you save ~50% on the retail price. They're then not valuable enough to be worth stealing either. If it's a small road with no bridges, tie to a lamp post instead. You need to be able to install 3 per hour to make the finances work out - 10 mins driving, and 10 mins installing, and repeat. If the city catches you, it's only a littering penalty. They likely wouldn't care. [1]: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003892325502.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003892325502.html Breakeven is 1 year average residency - that has to include failure, end-of-life, theft, and removal by the city.
- arethuza 4y agoAnything placed in a location which has easy accessed to pedestrians is going to get stolen and vandalised - particularly once people realise what they are.
- analog31 4y agobuy the data from someone else.