A team of British developers have just developed a new application that is already causing controversy across the Channel. Using artificial intelligence (AI), developed with the help of Silicon Valley specialists, “Speedcam Anywhere” turns your smartphone into a mobile speed camera† You just need to film a vehicle with your smartphone and the application will display the movement speed.
“The app takes a short video clip of a passing vehicle and uploads it to the server. The server can measure the vehicle’s speed from the video, compare the vehicle’s speed with the speed limits and provide a report proving the vehicle’s speed,” the inventor told The Guardian. The margin of error would be about 3 km/h in Pro mode. In basic mode, the error rate corresponds to approximately 10% of the actual vehicle speed. The application is also responsible for displaying the vehicle’s data, based on the latter’s license plate.
The developers hope to make it easier for residents to identify crimes committed near their homes, with the ability to easily report the results to the appropriate authorities. But that’s not how British motorists hear it, according to The Guardian, who see this application as a means of indictment.
A security or declaration tool?
Since the launch of the application in the UK in March 2022, the team has received abusive emails. “Some think it’s a good idea, others think it makes us a surveillance state,” said app founder Sam, who spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity. “I think if you have speed limits, the law requires you to obey them, and you have to enforce the law. This is not a personal vendetta against anyone, but just knowing how to make our roads safe,” the founder continues. .
The two largest app platforms, Google and Apple, are currently denying the broadcast, saying it is not possible to estimate the speed of a passing vehicle using AI alone. We don’t understand why they block useful technology that could save lives,” says Sam. For him, the widespread use of Speedcam Anywhere in the future will alert the police in speeding areas.
