Those of you with a video input for your Prius (such as for backup cams) might be interested to know that some cell phones have video output which can be routed to the Prius display. Google Maps Mobile on a phone with built in GPS (such as the Nokia N95) is a good example application - see photo below. If you're thinking of trying it, better sign up for the unlimited data plan. Otherwise it will cost about $2 per mile!
Yeah - it has been a while since I checked in here. I've always joked that while a backup camera is nice while parking in a tight spot, what you really need is an overhead view from a camera on a balloon above the car. After Google updated their mobile map program to follow your GPS position, we are one step closer. If you zoom in all the way, there is plenty of resolution to see what's around you even though the images are "stale". You can fool most passengers for a moment. If we can just get Google to switch to live video satellite maps, this would be the perfect parking assistant !
nice work! By the way, Google Maps just recently added cell tower triangulation so you can use it without GPS now (although not as smooth or accurate). I tried it today with a non-GPS Blackberry and it works decently. Here is the link: http://www.google.com/gmm/
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(brosnan @ Nov 28 2007, 07:59 PM) [snapback]545524[/snapback]</div> Wouldn't that be great! Nice work. Makes me wish I had purchased an ultimate lockpick rather than just the basic unit.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(brosnan @ Nov 28 2007, 06:59 PM) [snapback]545524[/snapback]</div> Nissan has you beat with their "Around-View Monitor" which has cameras around the vehicle to create a pseudo top-down view of the vehicle. Btw, nice find on the Google Maps + Cellphone! and welcome back!
