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Using Coyote To Warn Others About Radar Traps |
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File under New Products
Author: Mike Werner
Location: Normandy, France
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Here in France, when you see a Police speed radar, you usually flash your lights so that opposing traffic can slow down. It's a common thing, and it's totally legal. During the late 90's, the arrival of the GPS made things a bit easier. GPSs can have a radar database incorporated (POI), allowing you to start defending yourself against the radar plague unleased on us poor motorcycle riders.
Today, in the 21st century, we have a 21st century tool. French company Coyote  has gone one step further. They have a device that is GPS based and has the same radar database that most other GPSs have. But it also has an extra button and a GPRSGeneral Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is a packet oriented Mobile Data Service available to users of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and IS-136 mobile phones. It provides data rates from 56 up to 114 kbit/s.
GPRS can be used for services such as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) access, Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), and for Internet communication services such as email and World Wide Web access. GPRS data transfer is typically charged per megabyte of traffic transferred, while data communication via traditional circuit switching is billed per minute of connection time, independent of whether the user actually is using the capacity or is in an idle state. GPRS is a best-effort packet switched service, as opposed to circuit switching, where a certain Quality of Service (QoS) is guaranteed during the connection for non-mobile users. / GSMGlobal System for Mobile communications (GSM: originally from Groupe Spécial Mobile) is the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. Its promoter, the GSM Association, estimates that 82% of the global mobile market uses the standard.[1] GSM is used by over 3 billion people across more than 212 countries and territories.[2][3] Its ubiquity makes international roaming very common between mobile phone operators, enabling subscribers to use their phones in many parts of the world. GSM differs from its predecessors in that both signalling and speech channels are digital, and thus is considered a second generation (2G) mobile phone system. This has also meant that data communication was easy to build into the system. connection.
So far, the coyote functions very much like any other GPS warning system. When you ride in the vicinity of a fixed radar, it'll warn you. It'll also warn you (if so desired) when you're going too fast anywhere, since it knows all the speed limitations of all the roads.
But the "extra" button and GPRS connection is what makes the Coyote different. When you see a mobile speed trap anywhere on the road, you press the "extra" button. That takes the current GPS location, and via GPRS, sends the data to a central server. Within seconds, the central server then sends out the data to all other Coyote devices, updating the internal database. This way you're warned if you are riding along the same spot the previous biker was riding. The warning stands for a few hours, and is then removed. It's the 21st century equivalent of flashing your lights (or like the good old CB Radio).
As a bonus, if you've parked your motorcycle/car/truck on some deserted street late at night, and can't remember where, you can send an SMS message, and the unit will respond with its location. The unit will also tell you if you're heading for a traffic jam.
They're not exactly cheap, but neither are speeding tickets. You can not buy the units, you rent them, and with the rental price you get the warning system. It'll cost you €34.90 per month, with a 24 month contract.
No information is available if the unit works properly on a motorcycle, but I'm sure that can be arranged. Currently it's only intended for use in France. There are at this moment over 40,000 Coyote users on the road, and growing.
Click here for more information (in French) .
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