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"Your idea is not original" And if it is? I think I'm the only one building a weather network with cell phone sensors :).
by cryptoz 15y ago
"Your idea is not original"
And if it is? I think I'm the only one building a weather network with cell phone sensors :).
- solnyshok 15y agowhat kind of sensors you want to use?
- cryptoz 15y agoI am using the barometers in the galaxy nexus and the other phones. We have a couple thousand users submitting to pressureNET (free on the Android market) so far. Expanding as fast as we can!
- solnyshok 15y agodid you think that you can measure such weather params as air humidity or rainfalls/snowfalls by how they affect signal strength between fixed transmitters/receivers (e.g. cell signal strength to handset when it is stationary at home at night? :) just my 5 cents
- aspir 15y agoI used to work in the Notional Weather Center in Norman, OK. I assure you, you're not the only one who's worked on this, or had the idea :) Having worked on projects with granular geo and weather data before, make sure you validate your monetezation strategy with this early and often. You'd be surprised at how little big weather firms and "typical" weather data users don't care about the specificity and accuracy you provide. But, you'd also be surprised that there's a lot of valuable niches for weather data that you wouldn't normally pursue.
- cryptoz 15y agoSpecifically, I'm collecting barometer readings from Android devices - I currently receive about 10,000 measurements per day. I've been planning on monitizing by providing better short-term prediction using nowcasting techniques with radar imagery combined with the barometer network. This seems like it could work to me, as there are other startups working on the nowcasting idea (Dark Sky, for one) and I haven't found anyone with a similar custom-built barometer network yet. Does this sound like a plausible strategy to you? I've had only minimal advice from meteorologists/atmospheric scientists (though I'm starting to make some contacts) so I'd appreciate any advice you can give.
- aspir 15y agoSounds pretty cool, actually. You may want to reach out to specialized/boutique weather data firms and broker a supplier deal. There are larger weather companies out there that would love to aggregate your stuff to improve their current offerings (kind of a whole being greater than the sum of the parts model). I wouldn't try to go strike a deal with, say, power companies or insurers or whomever the end user may be. By itself, your data may not be very valuable, and these larger companies likely already own the relationships that would take you a long time to forge. But, if any when you are sitting down with these companies, be smart in the contract signings. I know a few meteorologists who got their early cash flow from supplying data, but they negotiated a bad contract and it was a rough experience. I've also heard some stories of great relationships that led to exits, so each company is different.
- ig1 15y agoThere's at least three companies doing that in London alone (one's a weather agency the other two are startups)
- jasonshen 15y agoThis is what I'm talking about.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- cryptoz 15y agoWould you care to provide more information? I'd love to know more, but I don't see anyone else doing this. Maybe I'm searching poorly? I'm collecting barometer readings, and I'm been search for others doing the same thing for about 12-15 months now without luck. Any help would be appreciated.
- ig1 15y agoI'll see if I can track them down, one of the startups I just met at some random event, but the other I saw pitching at a pitching event (flagon's den) so I can probably find them again.
- itmag 15y agohttp://ideashower.posterous.com/idea-millions-of-sensors-millions-of-surveys http://ideashower.posterous.com/idea-millions-of-sensors-mil... You stole my idea! ;)