has anyone thought of this for an app or plugin?

hey all!

decided to share my next great idea with all of you!

has anyone seen or know of any posts for software that would match the following description (searching has been fruitless):

A plugin for front end or standalone app that is made solely to share services between carpc users. I am imagining being able to share message level data and stream content between two or more carpc installs. carpc user x is driving in proximity to carpc y. x has a radar detector, a 3G broadband connection, lots of movie and music, etc. car y wants to access those services and that content. car x might run the server-side of said app and car y might run the client-side of said app. while car y is running the client and within range of x, car y could see all (and subscribe to) services that car x decides to share.

Imagine being able to share radar detector alerts in a convoy of carpc users (search: valentine 1 virtual display or check out the new escort 9500i), or let multiple users share 1 persons net for minor web updates (email, weather, etc), or watch a movie that another user has shared, or listen to music that another user is listening to or has shared. The list goes on and on... transfer files, share camera streams (i might finally get a glimpse of what is causing all the f*%$#@! traffic jams!) including video conferencing between one or more clients carpcs, voice conferenceing, IM, think multiplayer lan games for passengers, etc, etc.

I realize saturation of the app would have to reach a certain point before all the features could truly be realized or maximized.

Thus, ideally, this app would be a standalone app that would play nicely with all major front ends as a plugin (sdk, skinable, launchable, configurable, etc). It would be nice if it could use any currently existing technology or application functionality, such as ichat for the vid-conferencing, blah blah.

I'm with Sama, write it in Java!

I am thinking that a wifi 802.11g/n AP would need to be in the server-side vehicle so that client apps could connect and be on a WLAN with the serving host.

I could really see this as being a killer app... one that kills drivers who try to use it while driving! a good majority of functionality (sharing content, games, etc) intended for passengers, with some left for drivers (message based communiques).

What do you think? Discuss...

-ikon

Very interesting idea, but carputers are not saturated enough for this to be of everyday use at this moment.

here are some current uses given the lack of saturation:
company cars, school vehicles, carpc meets, wife/husband with two cars and two carputers, two friends/room mates with carpc's wanting to roadtrip on vacation. radar sharing and video conf would be stellar. hell you could even write a virtual NMEA driver and stream GPS coordinates to a client (granted they would see your position not theirs, but they'd be within wifi range, so it might be close enough for general purpose.). Think carpc meets in bigger cities. Easily exchange apps, music, photos, files, etc. Get 10 cars playing the same stream and crank it up! :rock:

The reality is, even if you know at least one other person with a carpc and frequent the same streets, a good majority of this app could still be useful (ie just between two users). And, if it worked with the top 5 major front ends, we'd be in business. Consider at least 6 months from now for application development and you only end up with more and more carpcs on the road.

What you really need to do though, is get the auto makers on board so that more carpcs would be available.

I'd be interested in hearing more feedback.

-ikon

I guess with the decreasing cost of cellular internet, the internet would be a better medium for this, as opposed to proximity and 802.11g/n. I'm guessing that by the time this idea got anywhere close to being a reality, it would be superceded by actually having access to the internet, and storing any relevant information there, where everyone could get to it. Just my 2 cents though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by msjonker

I guess with the decreasing cost of cellular internet, the internet would be a better medium for this, as opposed to proximity and 802.11g/n. I'm guessing that by the time this idea got anywhere close to being a reality, it would be superceded by actually having access to the internet, and storing any relevant information there, where everyone could get to it. Just my 2 cents though.

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The only problem with that is that cellular internet is not really fast enough for this....

Rafster

I think its a cool idea for the purposes of internet sharing, IM, video conferencing. Especially in a convoy or carpc meet situation. Probably not very practical while driving, looking for services on the surrounding cars.
The radar detecting part i think would work well, if someone ahead of you detects a cop and broadcasts that fact with GPS coordinates and then it shows up on your GPS map to alert you when you get near.

I think its a good idea for future features as mentioned above, how likely you are to find another road user with a carpc sharing services.

I've thought about this a few years ago. This was the way I imagined CarPCs evolving. The wireless Inet capability is there now, but I still don't see it up to par yet with this becoming a reality.

Fortunately, I think if you started on working on this system now, by the time you get it up and running, wireless 3g etc will be more common. I think most ppl use their cell phone connections either as novelty, or to log on and download email or check email. (So as not to use up many minutes/data)

But once the price drops even more on cell phone data packages and more CarPC friendly modems or whatever come around, I think this will be very popular.

i think the saturation would take a very long time to see the fruits of the labor. But.... it would be cool if a small app was written that would scan for another car and tell you if someone close to you has a carputer. Like a server and client you install. The server will look for other clients and report back. The client would accept the handshake and report back info that you have specified from a text file, like "im the guy in the black vw". Something simple like this should be fairly easy to do, and maybe one day you'll happen to find someone.

I remember at least one time, and this had to be pure luck, i was driving at night on the highway and drove pass a guy who just happened to running frodoplayer with my skin. He exited off the highway before i could get his attention though. Ive seen a few other people with carputers in there rides while out and about, but now a days its a bit hard to tell if its a carputer , oem satnav or just a fancy radio.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by msjonker

I guess with the decreasing cost of cellular internet, the internet would be a better medium for this, as opposed to proximity and 802.11g/n. I'm guessing that by the time this idea got anywhere close to being a reality, it would be superceded by actually having access to the internet, and storing any relevant information there, where everyone could get to it. Just my 2 cents though.

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This doesn't make sense to me. 802.11b/g/n has way more through put than today's mobile net options. good luck streaming content (video, music, etc) to two other cars with 300kbps bandwidth, let alone the latency issues. Wifi is the way to go because you get high bandwidth in short proximity... ideal for car "mesh" networks. Why would i want to push radar alerts to the internet only to have someone 20 feet away get it and be alerted? What if net went out or wasn't available? Then the whole system wouldn't work.

The utility of this system would not be contingent on net at all... net would only add functionality. If i have 500 divx movies in my car and you want to watch one in your car while we both drive from Minnesota to Florida, why do you need net for anything?

I agree, when mobile net becomes more pervasive, the system can only get better. As for the current state, the app assumes people are their own content providers and simply provides a way for two cars within range to exchange data SPECIFICALLY with out the need for net.

Sorry to bring the boom stick :-) just my reply to your two cents!

-ikon

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ikon240

This doesn't make sense to me. 802.11b/g/n has way more through put than today's mobile net options. good luck streaming content (video, music, etc) to two other cars with 300kbps bandwidth, let alone the latency issues. Wifi is the way to go because you get high bandwidth in short proximity... ideal for car "mesh" networks. Why would i want to push radar alerts to the internet only to have someone 20 feet away get it and be alerted? What if net went out or wasn't available? Then the whole system wouldn't work.

The utility of this system would not be contingent on net at all... net would only add functionality. If i have 500 divx movies in my car and you want to watch one in your car while we both drive from Minnesota to Florida, why do you need net for anything?

I agree, when mobile net becomes more pervasive, the system can only get better. As for the current state, the app assumes people are their own content providers and simply provides a way for two cars within range to exchange data SPECIFICALLY with out the need for net.

Sorry to bring the boom stick :-) just my reply to your two cents!

-ikon

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With what you're wanting to do, you are correct. The internet would not be good for it. But what happens if you're sharing a movie and the person you're sharing with moves out of range or you get separated? What happens if there is interference? If you're interested in sharing apps or small programs like that, the internet would be a better option.

Your idea about the radar is a very good one. It would be cool to have that functionality.

While this may be practical for you as you may travel with someone else that has a car PC frequently, its probably going to be hard to find other people where this is the case, and to find people that would benefit from this app and also want to, or are able to, work on this app. It will be a very big undertaking putting something together like this, especially if you want to interface other devices, such as radar detectors.

Not trying to tear your idea down, it would definitely be cool. Just trying to point out some of the shortfalls of relying on proximity and how that can limit your application.