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Coming Soon, Roadcasting
ByteWoopy writes "from Wired.com 'Stuck in traffic and sick of Howard Stern, you may soon be able to tune in to the music collection of the person in the car in front of you. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are developing an ad hoc networking system for cars that would allow any driver to broadcast music to any other vehicle within a 30-mile radius. Developed by a group of current and former master's students at the Human Computer Interaction Institute, the Roadcasting project would allow drivers to stream their MP3 music collections by Wi-Fi or similar technology to any other vehicle within range that is equipped with compatible hardware and software.
'"
...if the hot chick in the Benz starts playing "Naughty Girl" when I tune in, then I should take it as an invitation to follow her home?
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This is what you would call a Vehicle-Area Network, or VAN for short.
Cory Doctorow's Eastern Standard Tribe had essentially the same system described. I wonder if these chaps got their inspiration from EST, or if it's a case of life imitating art.
This is kind of like social networking, only without all the hassle of being social.
"What does slashdotting mean?"
"You've never heard of slashdot?"
"I know it makes websites not work."
hey, welcome to traffic jams from station 620-LPT, the black thunderbird! It's 5:30 PM and how's your coolant level? We've got the Smiths coming up, but first, the driver of the Red Explorer, your left turn signal has been on for the past two miles, are you turning any day now? [cue music]
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
How is this different from, say, a handheld radio with microphone input hooked up to an ipod? Also, I would expect it would be unusable in NYC because advertisers would just broadcast on every channel possible.
Of course, the FCC and RIAA will be all over this.
'Public performance'
'clogging the spectrum'
'private radio stations'
May be a good concept, but the implementation will be a bitch.
Am I the only one to see a problem here? Why should I potentially buy such an audio sharing system if no one else has one? The classic chicken and egg problem!
Plus, the broadcaster's association as well as copyright holders would be lobbying against it. See how Apple had to cripple itunes music sharing?
--- Eat my sig.
I'm just picturing transmissions such as:
"And this next song goes out to the owner of the white Ford Mustang, license plate A3G-D92, who just cut me off in traffic.
(song "I Hope You Die" kicks in: "I hope ya flip some guy the bird, He cuts you off and you're forced to swerve, In front of the beatles' tour bus, A bookmobile and a mack truck...")
Aeris Died For Your Sins.
I doubt your neighbouring drivers have any better taste in music than whatever station is repeating the same drivel they call music on the air. Sadly, there's a reason (other than sheer repetition) why "top 40" are there - people do like songs like that.
In the same vein, your taste in Chinese rap probably doesn't appeal to many people driving around you either.
Doing the Right Thing should not be preempted by making a buck.
Instead of a point-to-point application, this tech must become a P2P medium to have any value. Not only do populations of neighboring cars change constantly, quickly, and with little warning (use your blinkers!), but who wants to interact with the mostly random person in the car next to you? Maybe a cocommuter friend somewhere else in a 15-minute pod of traffic, but not the mostly random guy picking his nose and karaoking to "Sister Christian" in the Hyundai that just cut you off.
Meshes of short-range, low-power highway devices can, instead, form a medium layer in a TCP/IP network. Nothing about the neighboring cars' identity matters, just that they support the protocol, and have enough spatial density. Then they can bridge the gap to high bandwidth hops to the Internet. Along the way, they can aggregate traffic data, which can inform traffic jockeys and drivers to optimize flow (though, ironically, reduce necessary density). This project is a nice demo, but it needs to get buried in the protocol stack before the rubber really meets the road.
--
make install -not war
Just roll down your windows, you can already hear the crap they are playing.
'Same speed C but faster'
Great! I'm loading mine with Barbera Striesland outtakes, Yoko Ono, Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music, Melt Banana, Whitney Houston, some Pia Zadora, and as much Tiny Tim as I can find! Then I'm taking over the highways and freeways like Max before me!
O ULDN'TITBELOOOOOOOOVERLYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIEA IEAIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can imagine other drivers ceeding the right of way as they scramble at their dials to disable "auto download" whenever I get near. Or even better, I'll take a small boombox and crank ghetto rap, Phish Bootlegs, rare techno remixes, and other stuff to get noticed. THEN they get -Kazaa! - SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHW
About time guerilla warfare techniques had application on the open road.
I want to be able to tell the twat in front of me to put the bloody phone down and stop weaving over the bloody road.
Deleted
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
<snide whiney voice>The RIAA isn't going to like this one!
The RIAA isn't going to like this one!
The RIAA isn't going to like this one! </snide whiney voice>
Get a grip! The RIAA doesn't like anything unless it involves holding performers as chattel slaves, manufacturing hideous pop and rolling around naked in huge piles of money. The Grammys are a sham, just like the Oscars and it's all about promotion of the crap they want you programmed to like and buy. When actual consumers are able to pick and choose music in a broadcast then they have broken the chains of the RIAA, whose members regularly engage in payola.
It is probably considered a great sin by the RIAA when you turn up your stereo and other people get to hear your music for free (and you just thought it was people bitching about you being inconsiderate!) They've probably got an army of mad scientists (or severerly ethically challenged) working on some way to prevent public performance and free music in the parks, etc., and one day the only music you will enjoy will be chosen by their board and driven directly into your auditory nerves and you will enjoy it, because you'll have no choice in the matter.
Have a nice day.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
This is easily the dumbest thing I've seen all day.
In fact, there is only one reason why I like it....but it's a big reason.
The RIAA is bound to hate it, and drive themelves into seizures trying to regulate/kill it.
And anything that drives the RIAA crazy and wastes their time is aces in my book.
^_%
____
~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
FCC, RIAA, and the bible thumpers will never allow this.
FCC:
Uncontrolled language and content. They get on Howard Stern for some little crap. What about the Hippy who scream obsenities from his VW bus about conspiracies and how much weed he smokes? They'd never allow it.
RIAA:
You think they'll allow free playing licenced music? Also, pirated music will get played and they'll get their panties in a bunch.
Bible Thumpers:
All the free thinking and freedom of speach will drive these guys crazy. Now any idiot with a radio will have access to swearing and sexual content potentially!
"Oh noes! Sexy talk! Won't anyone think of the children!?"
Pretty Pictures!
How could you ever get sick of Howard Stern? (read with copious sarcasm)
Captain Insano shows no mercy.
Er... I forgot to add that Eastern Standard Tribe, like most of Doctorow's novels, can be downloaded for free. However, I generally find the dead-tree version a lot more easy-going on the eyes- and a lot more portable, too :)
Am I the only one who is tired of all this podcasting, bodcasting, roadcasting, godcasting, and rod casting?
Hey, it might be nice to have words to go with the whuump whuump whuump from the car next to me...
The NSA: The only part of the US government that actually listens.
I don't know why I should get a new expensive system, while FM transmitters are cheap and don't require a new radio in the listener's car...
You're not old until regret takes the place of your dreams.
just like tuning into to the neighboring car's FM modulator transmitting their ipod...
I've driven to Defcon a few times and there's a somewhat official convoy which travels from California to Vegas, this convoy has it's own radio station which is usually better than anything you can get on commercial stations ;-)
;-)
I remember once getting left behind - my then girlfriend (now wife) wanted to get in&out burger, and we had to catch up. Being a DJ I'd submitted a mix to desertcrossing radio, and it was scheduled to be played before we got to vegas. So I spent the next hour or so racing to catch up and get back in radio range. We did get back in time to hear my slot, and we were greeted with the sight of 50+ cars all string out on a hill in front of us with their hazard lights blinking.
Easily my favourite Defcon moment
How about creating some device that will let iPod users listen to their own music? Some sort of personal speaker system that pumps their music directly into their own ears, so no one else can hear it, so it bothers no one else, that allows them the flexibility to listen to their particular style of music? There *must* be some way to do this!
-- If god wanted me to have a sig, he'd have given me a sense of humor.
Just turn up dat hoopty G-trigga joint and shake da windowze of all da cars around y'all aaa-ight?
You don't need no fancy equipment and nobody around you needs it neither. Just some bling 22 inch rims yo, a big ole bass can in the back, a power amp rated in gigawattz and da latest remix of "doan make me smack you, ho" an' you can be "roadcastin'" down the road at 3am.
--- Jump!! Fire!! Bullet time!! - Lego version of the Matrix
I don't believe the 30 miles radius bullshit.
I'd believe 30 meters, but not 30 miles.
What do you bet that the reporter saw 30 m and took the m to be miles, not meters?
This actually seems like a much more useful application: hands-free CB radio. Something that lets drivers communicate with each other.
The main reason asshole drivers exist in such painful proportions is that they don't face any consequences. If they did any of those things outside the context of a motor vehicle, like, say, in a crowded store, the very least they'd get would be numerous angry stares. The boiling hatred of those affronted is a powerful motivator. On the road, most people aren't gutsy enough to honk at an asshole driver, and asshole drivers don't even notice lights flashed at them.
Imagine if that blissfully vacuous bleached-blonde soccer mom hears, "Get out of the passing lane, you retarded hosebag!" Now imagine if she hears that from twenty people in a one-minute period. Only the very dullest of idiot drivers will have such a thick skin that they can ignore an unending flood of insults and invectives.
But social pressure isn't the only application. If we make this an actual network, then sell simple voice-activated little boxes which hook into this network whenever the driver says things like "Report Alabama JDT 8771, swerving and aggressive driving," and let law enforcement keep a database of such "reports" so they can go have a talk with someone who has, say, fifty reports against them, we can bring some responsible driving back to the roads and save some lives (and commuting time).
The Internet is full. Go away.