I just built pressureNET: use your Xoom's barometer and contribute to a global map

[Cumulonimbus]

Hello everyone!

I just built an app specifically for the Xoom called pressureNET (free, no ads, open source!). It shows you a map of barometer readings contributed by others and lets you contribute your own measurement. So far the Xoom is the only Android device I know of that actually has a barometer, so I'm keeping the community small for now. If you'd like to read more about our future plans for the app, our blog is at cumulonimbus.ca. Ideally, if we gain enough users we will actually be able to use and interpret the data rather than just showing it on a map. While a single Xoom's barometer is of limited use, a whole network of them could give the world valuable weather information.

I will be updating the app as frequently as I can add new features, fix bugs, and generally improve it. If you have ideas let me know.

Also, this is my first post on this forum so I'm unsure if this is the right place - if there's a different forum for showing this app then let me know. Thanks!

Jacob Sheehy
Cumulonimbus Software

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[ggrant3876]

Hello everyone!

I just built an app specifically for the Xoom called pressureNET (free, no ads, open source!). It shows you a map of barometer readings contributed by others as well as contribute your own measurement. So far the Xoom is the only Android device I know of that actually has a barometer, so I'm keeping the community small for now. If you'd like to read more about our future plans for the app, our blog is at cumulonimbus.ca. Ideally, if we gain enough users we will actually be able to use and interpret the data rather than just showing it on a map. While a single Xoom's barometer is of limited use, a whole network of them could give the world valuable weather information.

I will be updating the app as frequently as I can add new features, fix bugs, and generally improve it. If you have ideas let me know.

Also, this is my first post on this forum so I'm unsure if this is the right place - if there's a different forum for showing this app then let me know. Thanks!

Jacob Sheehy
Cumulonimbus Software

Welcome to the forum.Glad you decided to join us.

[techguru]

that is kind of cool. Only problem i see is that since you are using location data, you are building a map that someone could use to find and steal a whole bunch of Xooms. You might want to think about onlyshowing location within 2000 feet of the reported location, and add some randomness to the actual position.

Alan

[4Dandroid]

that is kind of cool. Only problem i see is that since you are using location data, you are building a map that someone could use to find and steal a whole bunch of Xooms. You might want to think about onlyshowing location within 2000 feet of the reported location, and add some randomness to the actual position.

Alan

I'm looking to replace Barometer HD and I found this app in the market before seeing this thread. I have to agree that showing an exact location is not a good idea. How about ~300 meters (1,000 feet)?

[Cumulonimbus]

I'm looking to replace Barometer HD and I found this app in the market before seeing this thread. I have to agree that showing an exact location is not a good idea. How about ~300 meters (1,000 feet)?

Alright, you have all convinced me of this privacy concern. I will update the code today to ensure that exact user locations are not reported on the map . As more users download the app, I will have enough information to remove the user-plotted points altogether and instead I'll overlay averages, trends over time, etc of the data. But for now there is not enough data to do that so I display the user info.

I will update you again here when the code change is complete! Thanks for all your comments so far.

[Cumulonimbus]

The new version is live! I made a change in the server code and so there won't be an update to the app itself. If you open pressureNET and submit a new reading, you will notice that your location jumps a bit (a few hundreds meters or so) in a random direction. Thanks for the feedback!

[techguru]

The new version is live! I made a change in the server code and so there won't be an update to the app itself. If you open pressureNET and submit a new reading, you will notice that your location jumps a bit (a few hundreds meters or so) in a random direction. Thanks for the feedback!

Cool!. I'll put a task in my daily todo list to remebrer to run it at least once per day.

alan

[fish1552]

Personally, I wasn't as concerned about the privacy thing because living in the boonies, they are more likely to find a gun locked onto them from 300 yards than my Xoom. And if I miss, the dogs won't.

Great concept! Hope it turns out well. I also hope more devices include a barometric sensor in the future too.

[Ollie]

You have been mentioned at Gizmodo... Why the Barometer Is Android's New Trump Card

[4Dandroid]

I noticed on the map that there are more people recording their pressure. Curious. If we travel outside of our immediate area and record the pressure, what happens to the last reading? For example, I live in the Denver metro area, but I also have a place in the mountains 160 miles away.

By the way, I did give your app a 5 star rating in the market.