Preview: accurate positioning with terrain mapping
This is going to be a fun topic! Before we dive in, version 2.3 launched, silently and without fanfare (I forgot to post an update). It adds a feature that allows you to search the map for landmarks, addresses, and Alert Wildfire cameras. Now on to the main show… I’d like to show you a…
Version 2.2 adds push notifications
Fire season has ended for much of CA. I’m grateful for the break and the chance to enjoy some more time with family and friends. As one would expect with fewer fires, Smoke Point usage has tapered off as well. For when next fire season kicks off, users of Smoke Point are now able to…
Version 2.1: out of that car!
Version 2.1 is out. The app to no longer accepts readings from inside or near cars. It now also allows use without location permissions: some features won’t be available until permissions are granted. Why restrict readings in or near cars? San Mateo County recently had a prescribed burn. Two firefighters used Smoke Point on their…
Version 2.0: ///what3words, Alert Wildfire and UI update
Hello! Version 2.0 just hit the Apple and Play Stores. It has dark mode! More importantly, this update introduces ///what3words and greatly improves the Alert Wildfire camera experience. what3words is a geocoding system that uses three unique words to encode every location on earth to within 3 meters. For example, the location ///clip.apples.leap is 40.712875°…
Version 1.7 released: better readings, improved user experience
Version 1.7 recently hit the App Store and the Google Play Store. It delivers guaranteed better readings by enforcing compass calibration, and also allows you to view the map before creating an incident. Compass calibration Prior to taking a reading, the app now ensures that you calibrate the compass. It does this by employing a…
Version 1.5 released! Try out the new algorithm
Smoke Point has been updated to v1.5 for iPhone and Android. In the new version, there are visual changes to how readings are displayed, as well as an early version of the new target prediction algorithm. Visual changes to reading display Reading display has been updated to more clearly indicate the quality of the reading.…
Version 1.4.4: bug fix for Android
Note: If you are an iOS user, you can disregard this message. iOS devices are humming along… UPDATE 5/15: this version is now live in the Play Store. Version 1.4.3 introduced a bug that causes Smoke Point to crash on a number of Android devices. If you are affected, my apologies for the inconvenience. If…
Version 1.4.3
Smoke Point has been updated to v1.4.3. It includes a some feature requests, progress on improving the confidence of the triangulation algorithm (more below), and a number of bug fixes. 🗺️ Navigate to triangulated position When a triangulated position has been calculated, you can get turn-by-turn directions in Apple Maps or Google Maps with the…
Analyzing wildfire camera error
On AlertWildfire cameras in Smoke Point, you can pick any pixel on a camera image and it will give you the heading. Yesterday’s triangulation error was really bugging me. Was there a problem with the one camera (Stanford Dish), was there a problem with the math in the app, or the data coming from the…
Case Study: Phleger Estate
Many lessons learned on this one. Short version: one of the two AlertWildfire camera readings was off by about 2°: the camera was not centered or zoomed in on the target. Had it been accurate, first-arriving crews would have been on the correct trail. Since they weren’t, one engine company was on the wrong trail.…
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Smoke Point App 