How Speedcam Anywhere works

• A user of the app opens it when they hear a speeding car approaching and films the car passing.

• The app uses the number plate of the passing car to search the DVLA’s public registration database to find the make and model of the car.

• From there, it determines the distance between the axles of the car, and compares it with the footage to calculate the speed.

• The user then has the option of saving the video, or generating a report from it to share with the authorities.

Would you use this app?

The developers of a new app that uses AI to estimate the speed of a passing car say they have been forced into anonymity by the vicious response from drivers.

The app, Speedcam Anywhere, is the product of a team of AI scientists with backgrounds in Silicon Valley companies and top UK universities. Its creators hope it will encourage police to take speeding more seriously and enable residents, pedestrians and cyclists to document traffic crimes in their area.

But since it launched in March, the vitriol levied at the team is such that they are afraid of sharing their real identities. “We’re getting quite abusive emails,” said Sam, the app’s founder, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “It’s a Marmite product – some people think it’s a good idea, some people think that it turns us into a surveillance state.

The app has faced difficulties. Google refused to allow the team to publish it on the Play Store, saying it was not possible to estimate the speed of a passing vehicle using AI alone – a claim proved wrong when the company provided a demonstration of the technology. An iOS version has also been developed but Apple has yet to approve it for distribution and has not given a reason for the delay.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/10/speed-camera-app-developers-face-abuse-from-uk-drivers