Turn a cell phone into a mobile radar (donate the excess) thanks to artificial intelligence Something that sounds interesting to say the least. In fact, controlling the speed of circulating vehicles can be extremely useful in daily life. However, the practice loses all its elegance when it becomes one. tool used to blame other drivers.

what happened Speed ​​Camera AnywhereAn application created by a group of artificial intelligence experts from the UK, causing controversy among users only a month after its release. The bubble it spawns is so great that even developers are forced to use a pseudonym in their statements to the media like The Guardian.

How Speedcam Anywhere works and is “abuse”

This is an application that implements an artificial intelligence system that a mobile phone can do, as described on its website. accurately measure the speed of a vehicle. Functionally, they are the same sensitive radars used by organizations such as the DGT or the Civil Guard to detect road violations.

As stated, and as unbelievable as it may sound, this app minimum margin of error Around +/- 3.2 km/h. This happens at least in ‘Pro’ mode, as the app has another standard variant where accuracy drops significantly to 10% and can increase with “non-standard sized” vehicles.

Of course, its functioning is not as you might imagine. It is not enough to have this app open on your mobile phone and wait for a car to pass to measure its speed. This procedure to follow It states that a small video recording of the vehicle in motion should be made and sent to the artificial intelligence server, which can present it in full. report With data and evidence of the speed at which he travels.

It should be noted that to access these reports, you need buy credits, this is the way to fund this app. Of course, you have to be precise when recording the video clip, as the system needs a good viewing angle to detect the vehicle’s movement.

Some might think that this app has a clear focus on traffic authorities, but no. It’s within everyone’s reach, and that’s exactly what what is controversial, because many citizens use it to report other people. And yes, they may hide behind wanting to be role models of law-abiding citizens, but something suggests there may be darker reasons for their complaints.

One of the developers disclaimer On their website where they warn about its legality in the UK and leave it to the user to verify that it is legal in other countries. In this region it is possible to use this application to report, but they do not serve punishmentsomething that remains the exclusive competence of official institutions.

Trusting Google was difficult, and Apple denied it outright

Beyond the controversy that arose at the expense of their use of the app, Speedcam Anywhere didn’t have an easy time reaching the Android app store. Google rejected it from the start He claimed that it contained a misleading statement, considering it impossible to measure the speed of a vehicle with artificial intelligence. But the developers proved their effectiveness and eventually made it to Google Play in the UK.

On your own behalf Apple denied entry to the iOS App Store. They didn’t give a reason why they did so, but everything points to similar reasons as Google suggests. The developers have indicated on their website that the app will be available on this store “soon”, so we suspect they are still in the approval process.