Walkabout Mode (Safety Feature)

[Chavannigans]

I brought this up in another thread, but think it would be a life saver and worth Scout Motors attention.

Base Camp Mode, Walkabout Mode, Check Ins, IDK about the name but it's a working title.

The idea is essentially a software deadman switch to help keep people alive.

If you are camping or hunting in a remote area with no cell signal you can use the map to save your intended destination, and enter how long you think you'll be gone.



If you don't return before the time or days run out, the Scout can use the satellite comms to send a text to one of your contacts, or emergency services with the location of your vehicle and intended location.

People die every year by getting lost, running out of water, being stranded due to injuries, stranded on their boat etc. and this could help get search and rescue operations in motion preemptively.

With the only vehicles in their lineup being focused on the outdoorsy/overlanding market this would be a big selling point and could save some lives along the way.

You could take it a step further by having the marker lights flash SOS every 3-5 minutes so the vehicle is easier to locate once the system activates that protocol.

There could also be an emergency SOS feature triggered by hitting a button in the car or your phone app if you are nearby that triggers the SOS visual cues and also sends your location to emergency services and contacts.

You could also opt to send a text when you make it back to the vehicle and disable it so your family and/or friends know you made it back safe.

I would love to see more safety focused features that enhance the experience for users and give families peace of mind.

Cheers!

 

[dreamweaver]

Software is like great art, it’s never finished

But seriously, it is nice that even if a feature is not initially available it can be added later.

And Scout has those cool programmable mechanical switches for those new features.

 

[Chavannigans]

And Scout has those cool programmable mechanical switches for those new features.

I am going to set Aux 1 to play Freebird at full blast and deploy my American flag

 

[dreamweaver]

I am going to set Aux 1 to play Freebird at full blast and deploy my American flag

Maybe you could even program that tune at that level for the car Alarm.

 

[theonetruestripes]

iPhones, Pixels, and a few other Androids offer satellite messaging, but it isnt widely adopted yet and they dont have a scheduling feature that I am aware of.

They don’t have a scheduling feature, and are not likely to get one because you have to get the phone to a clear view of the sky and wave it around (or point it as the phone demands). They are just on the border of the amount of TX power they need to get the signal to a satellite so having it in area with the most power focus is important, and having as little as posable the tight absorb the signal is also important.

 

[dreamweaver]

They don’t have a scheduling feature, and are not likely to get one because you have to get the phone to a clear view of the sky and wave it around (or point it as the phone demands). They are just on the border of the amount of TX power they need to get the signal to a satellite so having it in area with the most power focus is important, and having as little as posable the tight absorb the signal is also important.

Not sure what you are trying to say here.

", and having as little as posable the tight absorb the signal is also important." Could you please translate.

 

[nolen]

Not sure what you are trying to say here.

", and having as little as posable the tight absorb the signal is also important." Could you please translate.

I think it’s supposed to say “as little as possible that might absorb the signal”

 

[dreamweaver]

I think it’s supposed to say “as little as possible that might absorb the signal”

Thats what I was thinking. I just thought they might like to fill in the blanks.

 

[J Alynn]

Thats what I was thinking. I just thought they might like to fill in the blanks.

Better to get it clarified than make assumption. Then we’d just be on FB

 

[dreamweaver]

Better to get it clarified than make assumption. Then we’d just be on FB

Still waiting.

 

[Mousehunter]

I used to be fairly serious into kayaking. First safety rule was don't paddle alone. I don't kayak nearly as much anymore, but within an arm of a niche that I still do more often than others, we recently lost a member of our community. While nothing on a Scout could have changed that accident - it did get me thinking a lot more about personal safety devices.

I have a Spot. For several decades I had thought about doing a specific "race". At one point, perhaps I was in shape for it - not not even close. A few years ago I thought about trying to get into shape for it again - as I now actually have time to do the race. I had known, at least a bit, of a death of a participant. Ultimately it required all participants to carry Spot devices -although it would not have made a difference either.

Anyway - back to the recent accident. I don't know what the kayaker was using. He did manage to transmit an SOS - but apparently did not have anything on his person that helped finding him afterwards. I have apple devices with satellite communications - but I don't think they would be reliable in the kayaking situation. I really don't know how much better an InReach would work. I think a Personal Locator Beacon might have been the best choice - but I honestly don't know, the kayaker might have had one (or maybe he had a VHF radio or maybe something else that made the SOS call).
----
Honestly, I suspect that most modern cars have tracking features already built in. We just might not be fully aware of them.

 

[J Alynn]

I used to be fairly serious into kayaking. First safety rule was don't paddle alone. I don't kayak nearly as much anymore, but within an arm of a niche that I still do more often than others, we recently lost a member of our community. While nothing on a Scout could have changed that accident - it did get me thinking a lot more about personal safety devices.

I have a Spot. For several decades I had thought about doing a specific "race". At one point, perhaps I was in shape for it - not not even close. A few years ago I thought about trying to get into shape for it again - as I now actually have time to do the race. I had known, at least a bit, of a death of a participant. Ultimately it required all participants to carry Spot devices -although it would not have made a difference either.

Anyway - back to the recent accident. I don't know what the kayaker was using. He did manage to transmit an SOS - but apparently did not have anything on his person that helped finding him afterwards. I have apple devices with satellite communications - but I don't think they would be reliable in the kayaking situation. I really don't know how much better an InReach would work. I think a Personal Locator Beacon might have been the best choice - but I honestly don't know, the kayaker might have had one (or maybe he had a VHF radio or maybe something else that made the SOS call).
----
Honestly, I suspect that most modern cars have tracking features already built in. We just might not be fully aware of them.

How about an Apple tag that you’d use in luggage?

 

[Mousehunter]

Well, in the situation of the kayaker - he was 8 miles offshore. Kind of out of range of an Apple tag. Outside US territorial waters (in Baja) - and probably outside cell range (problem with any line of sight communications, but I really don't know about how well Baja has cell reception). Low power satellite communication generally requires the device to be aimed - not easily done in if you are bobbing in an ocean with less than ideal conditions. I only have fragments of what actually happened - but I assume he made the SOS before he was a man overboard (so would have had somewhat better line of sight communications).

I really don't know if InReach can work well bobbing around. I assume a Personal Locator Beacon is specifically designed to do that. But the PLB is going to notify the US Navy-probably be forwarded to the US Coast Guard. Not sure how quickly it could deal with a problem in another nation's territorial waters. InReach, if it connected, would notify Garmin - then we get back to the same issue. How quickly would it be forwarded to a response group off Baja.
---
Regardless - the question is can or should a Scout notify a response center if the user does not turn off a dead man's switch. I am simply assuming that the Scout would most likely have some sort of cellular connectivity (which would require a fee for a user to use - but not necessarily for Scout to use), and will have presumably optional Satellite connectivity (which has the same subscription issues). So there are potential subscription issues (and potential expenses to Scout if the user is not paying a subscription - and honestly potential liability at that point) and a software feature.

But as for the liability issue - wonder if an owner would be pissed if their spouse was tracking them while having an affair (especially if they were not paying for a service and did not realize they were being tracked).

 

[oldgeeksguide]

How about an Apple tag that you’d use in luggage?

I believe Apple tags work by periodically connecting to nearby Apple devices via Bluetooth, ie there’s no gps on the AirTag, the position comes from the devices that detect the ping, so probably not useful for wilderness trekking.