STORYLINE

Veilcorp and Glimpsea Launch “Familiar Faces” App

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You find yourself in a new city, far away from the place that you call home. The sights, sounds, and even smells are unfamiliar. Everyone’s accent is different and there is a whole host of local slang terms to learn. Even the street food is different here. You’re not sure where the cool place to hang out is or if you’ll have anything in common with the people there. You are on your own. It’s one of the hardest parts about being a child who moves to a new town, but is it also a burden for tourists? Veilcorp seems to think so. The company is launching a new app called “Familiar Faces” designed to help visitors feel more at home and help them connect with local businesses while staying in Lahaina.

The ceremplant app helps visitors locate others from the same geographical locations, using Veilcorp facial recognition data and Glimpsea’s Lahaina View Project. In addition to helping visitors find others from the same area, the app provides companies with highly targeted ad opportunities.

“We run the feed from our cameras through a Veilcorp facial recognition system and Familiar Faces does the matching. A map shows you where people from your area are in real time. Feeling like a stranger in a strange land can be one of the hardest parts of traveling. The app is great way to find someone to talk to when you’re far away from home. We’re excited about the possibilities here and are already in talks with other cities about expanding the service. I believe tourism bureaus across the country will be begging for this kind of program,” says Simon Ike Vice President of Glimpsea.

Veilcorp has big plans for the pilot program. They see Familiar Faces expanding into other areas and becoming an integral part of everyone’s vacation experience. Brie Howard Vice President for Special Projects and Strategic Growth (VPSPSG) says, “The app also uses information gathered by our 3rd party partners to identify people with shared interests. If you’ve booked an ATV tour of the preservation zone, you’ll see others who have as well. If you asked about deep sea fishing, you’ll see who else has booked a charter. It’s a giant win for local businesses. With a premium subscription, a company can get a real time map of people interested in their services. This offers a wide array of valuable and highly targeted marketing information.”

However, not everyone is excited about having a real-time location service available to anyone. Many have accused the Familiar Faces app of being a stalker’s “dream come true.” They accuse the company of “pushing the boundaries of personal safety for a dollar,” pointing out that the program is currently opt-out for visitors. Some have more basic concerns about the program.

Local resident John Driscol is a vocal opponent of the new app and was one of many protesting in front of the Mayor Cravalho’s office this week. He says,

“I was not born and raised here but I found things to do without the help of an elaborate tracking system. I started counting waves the very first day I arrived. Part of the joy of wave counting as a hobby is the solitude it provides. A guy can sit and really ask himself the important questions in life: Will this cooler keep my drinks cold enough? Will I be able to completely relax in the next 7 hours before my kid gets home? Will they have the initiative to make themselves something to eat if I’m late again? The last thing I need is some out-of-towner who thinks that counting waves is easy, breaking my focus by wanting to talk. It’s not just the hassle of being interrupted that I’m concerned about. My life is significantly different now than it was before my wife and I moved here. I was a legend back home. No event was complete until I made an appearance. They could have made movies about my life in my early 20’s. I don’t want someone from my home town seeing me now and reminding me of what might have been. There’s a reason I skipped my 20th class reunion. I had some great times back then. Being a husband and father is really hard work, and the last thing I need is a walk down memory lane.”

STORYLINE

Lahaina to End Glimpsea’s “Enhanced Dispatch” Program

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The Lahaina City Council voted to end Glimpsea’s crowdsourced public safety dispatching service yesterday after numerous complaints, and high-profile mishaps. Part of the “Lahaina View Project” began in 2048, the enhanced dispatching program was supposed to help close a $1 million projected budget deficit, as well as provide more efficient emergency dispatching with the help of community volunteers.

The service faced much opposition since its inception both from the public, and from within the Mayor’s Office. Despite the company’s promises, and the hopes of some within the city government, the program stumbled from the very beginning, and was cancelled after barely 3 months. Glimpsea’s Vice President Simon Ike says he is disappointed with the council’s decision, and that complaints have been overblown, saying: “The program has been unfairly scrutinized from the start. While we feel our enhanced dispatching service is the future of emergency services, we understand the pressure the city council has been under, even if we strongly disagree with their decision.”

The Lahaina View Project was supposed to harness the power of a network of security cameras, drones, and phones to provide 24/7 visual coverage of Lahaina, as well as offer unique opportunities for civic, and government innovation. Thousands of residents downloaded the Glimpsea app, and became part of the network. The project’s cameras did save time and money for some departments like: the assessor’s office, the water department, and the housing division, however, it was the offer of a revolutionary emergency response and crowdsourced dispatching system that promised some of the most exciting advances.

With almost complete video coverage of Lahaina, emergencies and crimes could be spotted early, and registered users would be able to dispatch first responders to any situation at virtually no cost. Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite as planned. The program was soon plagued with false alarms, inordinately long response times, incorrect addresses, and people misusing the network.

Perennial mayoral candidate, and President of the Foundation for Natural Law Rodger “Rod” Kohole, was one of the most vocal opponents of the program, and says he is happy with the council’s decision. “Mark one down for the people! Yesterday we told big government that we don’t want them peeking in our windows, or degenerates guiding our brave first responders. This program was designed to line the pockets of government leeches at the expense of the public. I hope this is a wake-up call to Cravalho, and the Lahaina Stasi that they’re going to have to cultivate another network of informants. It is unconscionable that for months our neighbors have had to rely on people living in their mother’s basement to put their game on pause, and dispatch police and firemen. It’s a miracle nobody was seriously hurt, or killed due to Albert’s incompetence.”

“In retrospect, some of the issues we ran into seem kind of obvious,” says Mayor Albert Cravalho. “Crowdsourcing works great for things like data collection, research, and raising money, but probably isn’t the best model for dispatching emergency services. Despite the best efforts of Glimpsea, and my office, we just weren’t able to overcome the negative press coverage, and get the program on track. We had implemented systems to address some of the biggest concerns surrounding the dispatcher issues, but unfortunately it was too little, too late, for the public. I can understand their concerns, when you’re in an emergency, you want action not excuses. I just wish they had given us a chance to work out the kinks.”

Glimpsea and the mayor aren’t the only ones disappointed in the council’s decision. Self-described amateur sociologist, and author Kevin Morrow says the program was a treasure trove for his research.

“The enhanced dispatch service saved me years of data collection regarding the actions of people in stressful situations. I was initially against the program, but once I understood its potential, I was a big fan. Normally, one has to rely on reports, or interviews after-the-fact when researching human responses. However, thanks to the program, I was able to give surveys and conduct personality tests in real time, to real people during a time of turmoil. The results were amazing! While It is true that an overwhelming number of people become more agitated when questioned about what they thought their role in their emergency was, and I had four different accounts banned doing research; I still collected an enormous amount of data. I can only imagine how much my research could have helped those traumatized by an emergency event if the program was allowed to continue.”

STORYLINE

Glimpsea Expands “Lahaina View” Project

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The Hawaiian Department of Land and Natural Resources announced today that they would be joining the County of Maui and Glimpsea in their Lahaina View Project. Started last year, the program’s goal is to provide a live view of all of Lahaina through a network of cameras 24/7.

For the past year, Glimpsea has deployed its Comprehensive Aloha Security Helper Camera System (CASH) across large portions of Lahaina under the supervision of Mayor Cravalho’s office. Using a number of security cameras, the project currently covers most of Front Street and portions of the beach. The inclusion of the DLNR and their preservation zone drones will expand the program to a much larger area, but Vice President Simon Ike says that’s just the beginning.

“We’re really excited about the DLNR’s decision. Including their drones is a win-win situation for everyone. In addition to expanding our coverage in Lahaina, the drones can zero in on specific areas or tourists. It’s like having a professional camera crew following you around while you’re on vacation. As part of the agreement, we’ve provided the DLNR with a number of our mite-cams to be used in their tagging programs. We are hopeful that the shots provided by these banded birds will help conservation efforts and allow those interested an intimate view of the day to day affairs of Lahaina’s wildlife.”

While the new agreement will offer some exciting new areas of coverage, Lahaina is large. A handful of drones and birds won’t cover a significant range of the island. Ike says he is hopeful that the public can help the project reach its goal by downloading Glimpsea’s new app.

“The reality is that this new partnership will offer some interesting shots but we’re going to need the public’s help if we’re going to get a complete view of Lahaina. We encourage everyone who is interested to get our app and join the program. If you own any of our products currently: security cams, drones, 360 cams, or mite-cams, the app will be included in your next update. For those not using our products, our app is compatible with most drones, phones, and dash cams. If it has a lens and you bought it in the last 10 years, you can be part of the team. All you have to do is provide the make and model number and hit “Accept”. I’m confident that we will reach our goal of total Lahaina coverage by the end of the year. Soon, people from all over the world will be able to see, and in many cases hear, just how beautiful this place is in real time.”

The Lahaina View project is not without its detractors of course. Many worry about privacy issues and the network being hacked. Some feel that the program goes against the sense of freedom and peace that many visit the island to experience. “How are you supposed to relax on the beach if you know some creep could be sitting in his basement somewhere in the world staring at you?” asks Lauryn Krie, a tourist visiting from Detroit. Local activist Kevin Morrow has different concerns.

“I cautioned everyone about the radio tower but nobody would listen. Now we have ziplines attached all over the place and you can’t walk near one without hearing someone drop an F-bomb. I’ve been trying to track the increase in profanity since the swear tower went up, but it’s been hard because there wasn’t a lot of airborne obscenity before the ziplines. I think it’s safe to say you are 100% more likely to hear cursing from above since my warnings went unheeded. I hope it’s not too late for this video thing. Tourists routinely swear on the beach and Front Street. I don’t think it’s a stretch to imagine children who are now hooked on profanity flipping through the audio enabled views looking for a fix. Words aren’t just noises that we make with air through the holes in our faces, they are ideas and some ideas are bad. The Lahaina View project is a very bad idea.”