UFO Reporting for the 21st Century!

Hey everyone.

This is my first post so please be kind! I've been enjoying ATS for a long time whether it is just cool random posts about something I didn't knw or conspiracy stuff that is so off the wall you just have to read it. So thanks to everyone who has made a contribution here. But that is besides the point.

I'm a software engineer primarily writing mobile applications now (iPhone / Android) and I was looking around earlier realizing that there with all of this technology there is no UFO alert system and many times ATSers could be sitting inside on their computer while above their heads something interesting is going on. I'd like to help the community create a tool to get more eyes on the sky when they need to be. Imagine if someone in your area spots something strange you can get a push notification on your iPhone or Android phone and walk right outside and maybe capture a better photo than they were able to. Also the app could automatically submit reports to mufon or any other sources out there but essentially it could build a "thread" of sorts about a single sighting. I would make it so that it would go from the mobile device to a full website as well so people without smart phones could see recent posts and review, rate or comment sightings.

So I guess what I'm asking of you guys is:

1.) Would anyone use this app if it was made?
2.) Is there anything you definitely want or definitely don't want?
3.) Has someone already made something like this and I'm just not aware?
4.) This seems like overkill, can these fields be pruned? I'm not an expert: www.mufon.com...
5.) Any other ideas?

If this seems like a good idea I can throw together something simple using your input for screens, how reporting should work, etc and let you guys have at it. I think it would be awesome if right when a UFO sighting happened in my area I knew and I could walk outside with my DSLR and take some photos. Maybe a tool like this would get us some new and never before seen stuff or debunk stuff that is just too close to call.

Badcon

reply to post by badcon


Sounds like a good idea. I have a friend who makes mobile apps and I am always giving him out there ideas like this.

Not sure how much you might make on it but at $.99 might tickle a couple thousand UFO fanatics. Not to mention maybe help to track trends with MUFON if there was a way to report to them and put on google maps.

reply to post by abeverage


Oh it would be a free app. I'm not looking to make money. There would of course be a donation button because if it got popular the server costs could get high.

Also I would definitely like to do a livemap on the site so you could see reporting in realtime. It could be fun, also if there are posts that are obviously no good they could be quickly flagged.

reply to post by badcon


I personally like the idea. There are a lot of Android Apps out there, but I have never heard of one as you describe. I believe I have seen a few UFO reporting Apps.
My only suggestion is that the App somehow allow for immediate reporting, so that if someone 50 miles to my South reports a UFO moving North I will have a chance to get outside and look.

Great initiative. I'm not aware that apps that are like the one u want to develop are already available. What I would like to see in your app is the following:

- Possibility to upload the UFO report to MUFON without much off a fuss (in a press of a button if it's possible)
- Acces to the phone's camera from within the app, insight in exif data for third parties like MUFON
- Widget for android
- An alert system if an UFO report has been made in the vicinity of where you are.
- A social component? A like / dislike button? (just like flags are used in ATS)

That's all that I can think of for the moment.

I wish you good luck with the development!

reply to post by badcon


Good thread and idea

The possible problems I see are people playing pranks knowing if they submit a report all the people in that area with the app will be looking for whats not there , collating the information and swamping MUFON with lantern reports .... other than that I'd use it

Ive just checked and such an app is available called UFO report tracker .... its free .

Competition spurs innovation

reply to post by badcon


Shalom Badcon! There are seven known projects aiming to accomplish what you describe, in various stages of development since 2009. However it looks like the field has become somewhat stagnant as of late.

For a book project that I was involved in. I wrote this summary describing the state of the art of modern tracking projects.

Modern day science depends on computerized tools for statistical modeling to find patterns in complex systems. Similarly advances in understanding UFOs or 'the unknown,'[0][1] are likewise often the result of computer analysis. Visualization of zones of UFO activity, as seen in MUFON's ufostalker app[2] together with the MUFON case management system,[3] (CMS) and the Ballester-Guasp[4] quantification method,[5] helps limit probable areas of interest by providing insights to home in on possible proximal relationships.[6][7]

Results from these sorts of studies are significantly improved when connected to computerized remote sensing platforms equipped to record, detect, analyze, identify, and report anomalous transient observations. At present there are several fully automated UFO reporting platforms that are currently operational. The best known being Project Hessdalen,[8] others include MADAR,[9] UFOTOG,[10] GEODSS,[11] UFO@Home,[12] UFOCapture,[13] and UFOster.[14]

While results from many of these projects have been promising,[15][16][17] there's still the problem that each of the systems store information in a different format. This makes exchanging data something of a challenge as each of the systems are incompatible with one another. To solve this Jérôme Beau is actively developing a project codenamed "Archipelago" with the goal of writing a software layer to facilitate "data access and sharing by building a meta layer over databases that will enable the user to access data without depending on their underlying structures or technologies."[18]

Further research using computer science and other engineering disciplines, promises to be a fruitful avenue for sifting and extracting more signal from the noise.

== Notes/Refs ==
[0]. For an in-depth treatise, in the "__Philosophy and Metaphysics" directory, read Nassim Taleb's "The Black Swan, The Impact of the Highly Improbable 2nd ed."
[1]. "Understanding the Unknown" -- www.abovetopsecret.com...
[2]. www.ufostalker.com...
[3]. www.theblackvault.com...
[4]. "The state-of-art in UFO disclosure worldwide" -- www.abovetopsecret.com...
[5]. mufoncms.com...
[6]. en.wikipedia.org...
[7]. "Is it possible to 'stalk' the UFOs?" -- www.abovetopsecret.com...
[8]. "Project Hessdalen - Automatic Measurement Station (AMS)" --www.hessdalen.org...
[9]. "Multiple Anomaly Detection & Automated Recording" -- www.nicap.org...
[10]. douglastrumbull.com...
[11]. "GEODSS, Ground Based-Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance" -- news.slashdot.org...
[12] "Distributed UFO Mobile Detection, Analysis, Identification and Reporting Platform" -- wiki.razing.net...
[13]. "UFO Capture, Analyzer, Orbit, and Monitor Suite" -- sonotaco.com...
[14]. "UFOster" -- www.abovetopsecret.com... (a.k.a 'Project Bravo' -- www.abovetopsecret.com...)
[15]. "Project Hessdalen 1984 - Final Technical Report " -- www.hessdalen.org...
[16]. "A true UFOB & UAP & AOP video capture" -- www.abovetopsecret.com...
[17]. forgetomori.com...
[18]. "Archipelago" -- rr0.sourceforge.net...

In the list above, you'll find there's a member on ATS who was working on a project called UFO@home. I think it was Xtraeme? Maybe you could try to work with him? It would be nice to see progress in this area!

reply to post by FooScience


Yep, this has been brought up here before. Still a good idea except for Gortex's point about hoaxing......
The Best UFO Sighting App Ever!..
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by lupus83
- Possibility to upload the UFO report to MUFON without much off a fuss (in a press of a button if it's possible)

See my response below.

Originally posted by lupus83
- Acces to the phone's camera from within the app, insight in exif data for third parties like MUFON
- Widget for android

These are an absolute must.

Originally posted by lupus83
- An alert system if an UFO report has been made in the vicinity of where you are.

Absolutely. I was thinking a notification system where you could say:

I want to know when:
- Sightings happen (this would be as soon as the person in your area pushes the button "report a sighting").
- Sighting is submitted (this would be as soon as the person in your area filled out the whole form and perhaps submitted an image).
- Sighting becomes popular (this would be when a sighting in your area gets a certain amount of attention, this could be set within the app).

Perhaps some other notification options as well.

Originally posted by lupus83
- A social component? A like / dislike button? (just like flags are used in ATS)

Yeah, I'd like to have a ratings system so we could throw out and hoax / spam stuff. We want this to be a useful tool, not a platform for hoaxers.

Originally posted by gortex
The possible problems I see are people playing pranks knowing if they submit a report all the people in that area with the app will be looking for whats not there , collating the information and swamping MUFON with lantern reports .... other than that I'd use it

Yeah I think we would need to only submit to MUFON if the item got a certain number of likes or "hey this looks interesting"s or whatever it would be called. That way we're not throwing a ton of garbage ar MUFON.

Originally posted by gortex
Ive just checked and such an app is available called UFO report tracker .... its free .

Yeah I've seen a few and a couple seem pretty neat but I've not seen anything that really hits all the bases. Maybe I'll do this and learn people don't really want this kind of app and I spent a bunch of time on it for no reason but what the heck? I love programming!

reply to post by badcon


Yes this does exist but is not very good and not free,, I have used it and would use yours if better, it needs to send an instant alert to people in an area with activity to get verifications and confirmations and images and video oportunities, it must allow users to upload full reports and any images or videos and allow viewers to respond and report on same sighting. and rate a sighting. Also giving history per county / state for real ufo ops

here is the competition
Uk-ufo iphone and android app

good name for your App "UFO Realtime Report "

Originally posted by FooScience
In the list above, you'll find there's a member on ATS who was working on a project called UFO@home. I think it was Xtraeme? Maybe you could try to work with him? It would be nice to see progress in this area!

This is great! I'm going to look into all of these and see what I can learn and who I can work with. No use reinventing the wheel if it's already out there. I'd definitely be all about data portability and anyone who wanted to toss a UFO map on their blog site or whatever could certainly use data from the app.

I'll look around a bit more because admittedly this was kind of a spur of the moment, "that would be awesome" thing but with people seeming interested I'll definitely put something together and anyone who has development knowledge and would be interested in working with me feel free to PM!

Originally posted by FooScience
[2]. www.ufostalker.com...

This seems like a great database! I'm amazed with all the data on the map.

reply to post by badcon

Yeah I've seen a few and a couple seem pretty neat but I've not seen anything that really hits all the bases. Maybe I'll do this and learn people don't really want this kind of app and I spent a bunch of time on it for no reason but what the heck? I love programming!

Nothing ventured nothing gained ..... if you build it they will come ... and other such like motivational catch phrases

If that's what you enjoy doing and you have an interest in the UFO subject then its a win win , you improve your skills plus you may build a killer app , there are always going to be people out there that want something like this on their phone just in case they see something .
Maybe you could add links to sites of interest .

It sounds like it already exists in a way. The existing app would only have to be re sourced if you will. The app I am referring to is called "Hero" and was set up to instant notify for Amber alerts. It sends video and audio as well as text instantly when the button is pushed to a specific area size around the sender. I don't think it would take much to set up the exact same thing for the purpose of UFO reporting.

I like the idea but because I don't have an iPhone or similar mobile device, I wouldn't be able to enjoy such app. Certainly there are others like me. Since I don't know much about these devices and apps, I have to ask - is it possible to make it also for PC? Also, is it possible to include a few basic tools that can be helpful in many cases, like EMF meter, thermometer, a kind of real time satellite tracking map like this one www.n2yo.com... star maps etc. Such tools can help identify the objects before waking up the neighborhood to each iridium flair and take the UFO sighting to another, a bit more sophisticated level.

About the pranks - I'm not sure a rating system will save us from the hoaxes. Some of the highest rated videos on You Tube are obvious hoaxes. If you could integrate a lie detector somehow, that would be another thing, but this has to wait for the 22nd century UFO reporting app.

Originally posted by badcon
reply to post by abeverage

 

Oh it would be a free app. I'm not looking to make money.

There would of course be a donation button because if it got popular the server costs could get high.

Also I would definitely like to do a livemap on the site so you could see reporting in realtime. It could be fun, also if there are posts that are obviously no good they could be quickly flagged.

edit on 30-8-2012 by badcon because: just needed more detail

So are you planning to keep a database of sightings then?

Nothing wrong with that idea at all. But I do have a question: If you created a killer app with uniques features and you were approached by some spooky sorts who gave you a Red, White, and Blue speech, would you cooperate with them hush-hush?

For example giving them a back-door or some such?

reply to post by badcon


The camera-control software I’m working on is specialized in detecting any large hovering object in daylight and adjusting the aim of three cameras in the vicinity of a traditional UFO hotspot, and one feature I’ve been hoping to have is an alert sent free of charge to cell phones in the area of people who have requested alerts. The program can’t identify a target. It just rotates the cameras, zooms them, and starts them shooting. Then it’s up to humans to judge. This system will be activated by helicopters and large balloons, and there are a lot of hot-air balloons in New Mexico.

But having that cell-phone notification feature (which is something I don’t actually know how to program and would ask someone else to do) is something I want to have in order to have real-time human eyewitnesses in addition to robotic photography. And if and when photos are examined and appear to be alien or whatever, FOIA requests for FAA and weather radar data will be made—something participants in any phone-based warning system should consider if they really believe they saw something otherworldly.

That aside, for a phone app alone, I can imagine someone with your app installed who spots a UFO. The most you can expect a person seeing something so astounding to do is reach for the cell phone and press a button (preferably not having to look at the phone) , not perform menu operations, etc. In the JAL case over Alaska, one crew member tried to photograph the object but said the shutter wouldn’t close after he turned off auto focus. There was plenty of time to figure out how to solve the problem in that case, but the witnesses were apparently not all that calm. But in most cases, witnesses don’t want to look away, even for an instant.

I think this is a great idea! But I'm concerned about the hoaxing/pranking problem gortex raised.

Originally posted by badcon
Yeah I think we would need to only submit to MUFON if the item got a certain number of likes or "hey this looks interesting"s or whatever it would be called. That way we're not throwing a ton of garbage ar MUFON.

This is a must otherwise MUFON (or other reporting centers) might eventually block the app's access due to excessive number of obvious hoaxes/pranks.

But a problem still remains that I'm unsure how you're going to resolve:

You mentioned the idea of people getting an alert when "something strange" was reported in their area so they could investigate for themselves, try to get better/more photos, etc.

If anything that gets reported alerts people you could get a hoaxer/prankster making stuff up and people getting constantly bombarded with fake reports, and if you wait until there's a certain number of "likes" until an event gets reported it might be too late for anyone else in the area to do anything about it.

How can this problem be resolved?

Cool idea, but it would be abused and turn into another medium where people have to sift through all of the garbage to find one or two gems. MAybe if there was a man in the middle, so to speak, that filters out all of the garbage people submit,, and only pushes through legitimate stuff.

What would be the key motion to trigger some kind/any kind of application? radiance, speed, manoeuvre or a combination, is it an object with X mass. Height and size would be unknowns, origin might be a help if it was something incoming from at least orbit distance, a plug in to NASA/JPL tools as well, NEO, (NASA earth observations) and JPL, (near earth objects) It is a good idea though, if it could all be put together in a workable way.