Questions and ideas for a "bike mode"
Hi there!
Today the weather was fine so I thought I'd take my bicycle for a ride. I happen to have a USB charging port powered by a hub dynamo and of course a handlebar mount. I wanted to be able to regularly glance at the map but there were two problems:
- Every time the dynamos power was sufficient to charge Jollas battery the phone switched on it's display thus consuming more power. The dynamo was not able to generate the additional power so the Jolla stopped charging immediately.
Via this post it seems possible to avoid waking the phone, but I don't know if there are consequences in shutting down powerd. Also you can read there that Jollas kernel wakes the phone when a charger is connected. This also has to be sorted out. - When I wanted to look at the map I always had to unlock the phone and then select my favourite map viewer.
This can be avoided by exploiting a bug.
Another thing that I thought was that it would be nice to have fast access to screen brightness and that I would like that the screen only blanks out when I push the power button.
That brought an idea to my mind:
What if my Jolla had a bike mode, that does all this?
Is it even possible to create a program that does this? Keeping display on, changing brightness with volume keys, set the current running app as lock screen? Ideas and hints are welcome!
BTW: If anyone has an idea for my first problem, possibly with some funky mcetools setting, please do tell me!
I really like the idea. I immediately came to think of a TOH that would enable this bike mode. This TOH could have an integrated handlebar mount and maybe even connect to velocity and cadence meters. This is actually something I might look further into... Don't hold your breath, though :)
Okw ( 2015-02-22 01:39:20 +0200 )editThis is something I would also be interested in, especially if comes with some funky attachment mechanism for the handlebars (but please nothing that needs to be permanently fixed to them). I do a fair amount of road cycling and would really benefit from having the phone in front of me with a preloaded GPS track that I can follow, and maybe some guidance for turns and such. No I need to stop and dig the phone out from my back pocket to look where I need to turn and if I'm still on the right path.
2Ti ( 2015-02-22 16:38:08 +0200 )editIf the ambiance concept would be more powerfull it could be used to switch to bike/car-mode.
avdwoude ( 2015-02-23 08:49:06 +0200 )editI was going to propose the same idea. IMO, the "Bike TOH" should have the following features:
Nice optional additions:
22sander ( 2015-02-25 12:53:25 +0200 )editUSB port to charge other phones
A good anti-theft lock to keep the phone on the bike and software to protect bike theft. Use case: when on a biking trip with friends, you stop to rest and drink a cool beer. So, you physically lock the phone. TOH communicates this to the phone. The phone software will enter anti-theft mode: the phone will be locked, incoming calls will be muted, and it will optionally ask for 1 or more mobile phone numbers. You enter the number(s) of your friend(s). If your bike moves a little, an SMS will be sent to your friend(s) and a flashing red warning will appear: "DO NOT STEAL THIS BIKE!". If the bike moves even more, the phone will start a loud alarm. When you later unlock the TOH, the phone will close the anti-theft mode.
Integrate real-time weather information like the apps https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.mdiener.rain.usa&hl=en_EN and https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.yoki.android.buienalarm do, but in a more advanced way: it should take into account your current speed and the trip you are doing.
More details on the integrated real-time weather information:
For instance, it should automatically propose an alternative route if heavy rainfall is approaching your route. Or it can propose to stop at the nearby pub to shelter before it starts raining if it sees there are no other shelter opportunities further on before it starts to rain.
Use cases: * It will start raining in 30 minutes at a spot. The apps detects that at your current speed you can avoid getting wet if you change your route. It will ask you to do this or to continue. * It will start raining in 20 minutes. The apps detects that you cannot avoid the rain if you continue your trip. The app shows a screen "Unavoidable rain expected in 20 minutes", "rainfall is low/moderate/heavy", and will last for probably "30 minutes", "Do you want me to look for shelter?" Yes: The app looks for possible shelter opportunities nearby your route and shows them to you in a list. When you select one, it will guide you to this shelter. The whole time it will show a counter: "rainfall in X minutes and Y seconds". When it starts raining, this counter will change: "Rainfall will stop in X minutes and Y seconds".
22sander ( 2015-02-25 13:19:07 +0200 )edit