GPS / Telemetry

[jamestnewsonr65]

Hi, Im looking to get your opinions on a few different types of uses for GPS data and telemetry.

I have been a rider for a little over a year and in that time i've become obsessed by the idea of building up bikes of my own. I've built an R65 already and am always on the lookout for another project.

One such project has led me to think about what could be done with different types of data which can be collected from biking apps/devices and GPS etc.

I am a designer and work on all sorts of massive brands with access to development resources and after chatting with one of my friends we decided we would like to develop a product/application which could utilise different biking data.

I would love to get some opinions/suggestions on applications you use in conjunction with your biking trips, and how you use them. These can be mapping apps, telemetry, GPS or just about anything in between.

Do you use them in conjunction with your phones internal sensors or download data to your computer?

Any info/opinions will be gratefully received and this is purely a hobby project for 2 biking enthusiasts.

Thanks for taking the time to read and hopefully reply. If this is in the wrong section then I apologise.


--- Just as an example : Here are some things we are thinking of utilising.

Lean angle
Altitude
Route
Positioning
Speed
Deceleration
Proximity

[Lucky_Lou]

Something that corroborates acceleration and braking my be a good idea to make people consider fuel efficiency and safer riding.
Lou

[k_enn]

I use an old Garmin GPSMap 76CS gps device.  Based on the capabilites of that device, here are some of my thoughts:

Altitude - the Garmin shows altitude.

Barometer - the Garmin tracks and shows that

Route - the Garmin show routing in two different ways.  It will show you a route to your destination.  It will also track your route as you travel.

Speed - shown on the GPS.

Proximity - to what?  It will show that to you destination or your next turn.  You can also search for food, fuel, lodging and other services near your present location.  

Other thoughts:
Lean angle - not particularly useful for me.

acceleration / deceleration - could be potentially useful on a track day.  Back when I was into sports cars, I had a g-meter that measured g (gravity) forces that was usefull for graphically depicting acceleration, deceleration and lateral forces when running on a closed course.  When you knew how to read it, you could reduce your time on the course.  Could be potentially useful with a motorcycle.

Depending on the device, real time diagostics might interesting, such as battery/electical levels and usage, vacuum gauge if carborated (fuel economy), oil temp, water temp in degrees (if water cooled), tire pressure (if bike is not equiped with that already), ambient air temperature (if not already equipped), and weather forecasts (use a lot on my cell phone when touring).

Since I tour mostly alone, I had thought of getting a satelite positioning and rescue dispatching device (Spot, or Delorme) in case of a mishap in areas where there is no cell phone coverage.  Never got around to getting one, but it would be nice to have.  

As an interesting aside, my new bike (BMW K1300S) is equipped with an ambient air temperature sensor and readout.  It also has a warning indicator on the instrument display that comes on if you are in a temperature range where black ice could exist or form.  When I got the bike, I thought that was a waste as I would not ride when it was that cold.  Wouldn't you know, I was on a tour and ran into cold weather in the mountains and the warning flashed on the dash - 34 degrees F.  A minute later, I was running into hail and snow.  Although no black ice, the warning did case me to take it easy just before I ran into the nasty precipitation.

k_enn