Quick GeoFence setup

[sk]

I'm not using the service yet, so forgive me if the answer to this query is obvious to paid subscribers.

Here's my question: What is involved in setting up a new GeoFence?

Reason I'm asking: Let's say I go to a new location somewhere in my city -- someplace I've never been before.

And let's say I'll be away from my vehicle for a few hours... or maybe even just for a few minutes. In any event, I'd like to set up protection quickly and easily with a new GeoFence.

Do I have to type in longitude and lattitude, or can I just hit a button and let the phone populate those location boxes with GPS coordinates?

I don't mind having to delete lots of GeoFence listings at some later date. What I'd really like, though, is the ability to add them on-the-fly, as the need arises.

Let me know...

Cheers,

S.

[ATSupport]

Currently if you are setting a fence at a place the phone has never been to, you'll have to manually enter the lat/lon into the fence page. You can use geocoder.us to find the lat/lon of an address. Later we'll add the address->lat/lon lookup so you don't have to use another site to find out the lat/lon.

[hutch109]

I think a better answer - to the question you asked - is YES you can.

Your description indicates you would be at the place that you have never been to - and you want to set a fence when you get there - correct?

Well, I guess its a yes, and a no... You can set a fence, and it will fill in the lat/long - and all the data you need for the fence - but you can't do it from the "track phone" - you would need to have another phone with net access, or a laptop.

Does that make sense? The java midlet does not have the ability to say "push this button, and sound an alarm if it goes 500 feet away from here".

So, the phone won't populate the boxes - but the AT application, looked at from the web side - will populate the lat/long...

Confused yet?

Eric

[debitspread]

Well, maybe there's an opportunity for a new app here.

What about having two phones in the vehicle?:

The first one sends coordinates to the satellite. The second one would be wired into the vehicle's electrical system.

When you turn the engine off, the second one would
1. log onto AT
2. delete the most recently created GeoFence, and
3. create a new GeoFence for wherever the vehicle is at that moment.

That way, you could travel anywhere you want and never have to think about manually creating another one of these documents.

I'm wondering if I could write an app like this myself, assuming that I tap into the API. Or does AT already offer something like the functionality that I've described?

S.

[ATSupport]

Update: We have added the geocoding to the fence page. Now you can setup a fence by entering an address. The coordinates are filled up for you automatically.

Eric was right, usually this can only be done from PC. You cannot do this from the WAP-compatible-only phone because our fence page does not support WAP. However web browsers on some smart phones are HTML compatible so you can setup fences from them (Android G1, iPhone, WM or Blackberries).

[ATSupport]

Update: We have added the geocoding to the fence page. Now you can setup a fence by entering an address or clicking on map. The coordinates are filled up for you automatically.

Eric was right, usually this can only be done from PC. You cannot do this from the WAP-compatible-only phone because our fence page does not support WAP. However web browsers on some smart phones are HTML compatible so you can setup fences from them (Android G1, iPhone, WM or Blackberries).