location triggers for android

[kalos]

hello!

I want to do stuff (like activate wifi, etc) when I enter/leave specific locations

so far, there are two methods to do that, one with CELL ID and the other with GPS

GPS seems to be more accurate but it's resources consuming

is there a way I can select a CELL ID and select a radius to define an area?

thanks!

[pl5bnsf]

Take a look at 'Llama - Location Profiles'  Llama. It learns your area by cells and lets you assign profiles by area. Mine sets my phone on Quiet at work. And it lets you do various actions based on that. Or something like Tasker will give you more control but has a larger learning curve.

[eleman]

Tasker does that.

[Ath]

You asked nearly the same question a couple of days ago... (and got basically the same answers)

[Jibz]

Automagic is similar to Tasker (but has an interesting flow designer to build programs) and can also do things like that. Llama has the advantage of being free though.

[dluby]

I use Trigger

[JoTo]

+1 from me for Tasker in combination with AutoLocation (a Tasker Plugin).

AutoLocation uses the Google Geofences technology. You can define any region of any size (even overlapping or one within another - e.g. a fence with 1km diameter informing you by popping up a dialog that you are nearby the shopping mall and that you you can go shopping now and a smaller circle inside this region just round the shopping mall that opens automatically your shopping list textfile when you are just in front of the mall.

There are some more useful Plugins from the same developer available like AutoVoice, AutoShortcut etc. that can be used in combination with each other and Tasker to do all kind of stuff on all kind of events/triggers you can imagine. All not free, but really well done and mighty, so worth every penny IMHO.

Well, as this needs a bit of insight into Android (Events blah blah) and a bit of logical thinking (call it a bit of programming thinking) this is maybe not for the newbie user. It takes a bit of effort to put a working system together that do what you need, but if you have it, the options are endless.

Greetings
JoTo

[kalos]

thank you all, but all you missed the exact meaning of my question
including you Ath, no it isn't the same question

or otherwise, I haven't understood well how these similar programs function

I know how to set in these programs a GPS location and then set a radius to which an action will be triggered.
As for CELL IDs, there is a problem, because I cannot search in a map and assign an area there.
I have to be physically present in that location.
But again, while physical present in that location, I can find the current CELL ID I am connected.
But I want the action to be triggered in the surrounding CELL IDs! Under a specific radius!
how can I find all the cell ids within a specific radius? and assign a trigger to them?

[kalos]

JoTo is this "Google Geofences technology" different than GPS or CELL IDs?
is it more accurate than these? is it less power consuming than these?

[4wd]

I have to be physically present in that location.
But again, while physical present in that location, I can find the current CELL ID I am connected.
But I want the action to be triggered in the surrounding CELL IDs! Under a specific radius!

When you're in the area you instruct Llama to Learn the towers in the area within a specific time frame.  There's no need to add towers one by one, any that Llama sees while in that position will be added as an area identifier.

Llama picks up 16 towers servicing my immediate area, over the space of 2 hours without me moving from my study.

Considering some of these towers are up to ~20km away from me, that's a rather large area - exactly how big an area are you wanting it to trigger on?

[kalos]

I have to be physically present in that location.
But again, while physical present in that location, I can find the current CELL ID I am connected.
But I want the action to be triggered in the surrounding CELL IDs! Under a specific radius!

When you're in the area you instruct Llama to Learn the towers in the area within a specific time frame.  There's no need to add towers one by one, any that Llama sees while in that position will be added as an area identifier.

Llama picks up 16 towers servicing my immediate area, over the space of 2 hours without me moving from my study.

Considering some of these towers are up to ~20km away from me, that's a rather large area - exactly how big an area are you wanting it to trigger on?

definately not 20km, I want it to be in a 200m radius!

[4wd]

One cell tower is going to cover more than a 200m radius unless the area is saturated with mobiles, in which case you'll be switched to another tower close by that's not saturated.

This is why you need to tell Llama to Learn an area - which in all the messages you've posted you've never said you're doing.

So, a simple question: Do you tell Llama to Learn an area?

[kalos]

no I haven't told Llama to learn the area
I want to just specify geographically a point and then a specific radius and have it automatically find the cell towers or do whatever it wants in order to "learn" the area
isn't it sensible what I am asking? is it possible to do it?

and I have switched from llama to tasker, can I do in tasker? if not, I can switch back to llama, no problem

[4wd]

Tell it to Learn an area, the more towers it sees in an area, the more accurate its location triggers will be.

It's not possible to do what you want, the mobile phone system doesn't work that way.  How would the phone know how far away a tower is without taking into account information that doesn't get transmitted?

[Ath]

It's not possible to do what you want, the mobile phone system doesn't work that way.

That is where the experimental Google Geofencing stuff comes in; it tries to make location determination more accurate by (probably, that's part of the experimental stuff) including the WiFi hotspot information that G' gathered 'by accident' using the Streetview recordings, and connection accesspoint detection when using G' applications.
You are correct in that you have to go to the actual location to activate any 'detection'. There is no global database available where Cell ID, location and range is stored, and the data is also quite dynamic, as base stations seem to be relocated or replaced from time to time, most likely based on technical triggers (I can only assume). Most likely there is data about these Cell Phone basestations, but not publicly available and per provider only.

@Kalos: Did you already try the suggestions JoTo gave about Tasker and AutoLocation? Yes, it's not free but quite affordable (as most payed Android apps), and if it works you'll end up buying them anyway

[4wd]

It's not possible to do what you want, the mobile phone system doesn't work that way.

That is where the experimental Google Geofencing stuff comes in; it tries to make location determination more accurate by (probably, that's part of the experimental stuff) including the WiFi hotspot information that G' gathered 'by accident' using the Streetview recordings, and connection accesspoint detection when using G' applications.

I don't think that's going to be of much use in his situation because:
a) The WiFi on his phone might not be turned on.

I want to do stuff (like activate wifi, etc) when I enter/leave specific locations

and
b) GPS runs the battery down.

GPS seems to be more accurate but it's resources consuming

Which kind of leaves just the phone towers.  It would be nice to know if Llama was satisfactory ... if he give it a chance to do its stuff. 

[kalos]

ok, I decided to give llama another chance

I was at work and I clicked to "learn the area"

it asked me how long I will be in that area, I clicked 4 hours

now what?

[kalos]

I seem to more like Tasker

but I set it to enable vibration sound mode when I arrive work, and enable normal sound mode when I leave work

but it cannot accept it!

it changes both entries, so that they are both the same!

what is going on really?

[4wd]

ok, I decided to give llama another chance

I was at work and I clicked to "learn the area"

it asked me how long I will be in that area, I clicked 4 hours

now what?

I guess you skipped all the help?

Never fear: Use Llama To Automate Your Android Phone With Location Profiles & More

[Ath]

I hope I've found a solution for the original request: AutomateIt-Automation.
It has a location trigger that is imho, close to spot-on for what's been asked. It offers to take you to the Location tips and tricks on the developers website when you select it, where you can select a spot on a map and a radius around it where the trigger should fire.

[kalos]

ok, I decided to give llama another chance

I was at work and I clicked to "learn the area"

it asked me how long I will be in that area, I clicked 4 hours

now what?

I guess you skipped all the help?

Never fear: Use Llama To Automate Your Android Phone With Location Profiles & More

yes, I skipped all the help, a successful software doesn't force you to read pages of help, it guides you with its helpful and clever interface!

anyway, after reading llama help, I don't feel much richer and I still think that it's a fairly bad way to set location triggers, because at work, when I go to a building I have never been before, llama will identify this as if I have left work!

[kalos]

I seem to more like Tasker

but I set it to enable vibration sound mode when I arrive work, and enable normal sound mode when I leave work

but it cannot accept it!

it changes both entries, so that they are both the same!

what is going on really?

anyone can help me with this please?

[xtabber]

I'm not sure I understand what you are trying to do with cell location, but Locale might do what I think you want.