Author: graham

I reported a couple of weeks ago that a user had trouble with the latest version of the Phone App on Android 10, but using the previous version (V3.6.0) worked ok.

I have been struggling to trace the issue – I don’t have an Android 10 phone but on the emulator it seems to work ok. If you use an Android 10 device for OpenSeizureDetector, please will you let me know if the current version (V3.6.1) is working ok for you, or if you had to downgrade to V3.6.0? And any help on what the error message or log files said about the problem would help.

Thanks

Graham (graham@openseizuredetector.org.uk)

A user has found an issue with V3.6.1 of the phone app on Android 10 which means that it can not write to log files and shows an error.

The app is still working, but the error notifications will be annoying. If this is an issue for you, the simplest answer is to revert to V3.6.0 from the source code repository here: https://github.com/OpenSeizureDetector/Android_Pebble_SD/tree/master/app/release (or alternatively use a phone that does not use Android 10!).

The problem is to do with increased security in Android 10, so I will work out how to solve it over the next few days – This might be the driver to get me to convert log files into a database which I have been intending to do for some time…..

Graham (graham@openseizuredetector.org.uk)

I have just published V3.6.1 of the Android App on Play Store, so upgrades should be available soon. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to and tested this version. The Changes are:

• Possible fix for the issue with the app failing to shutdown when requested sometimes (so if you see it happening still after this upgrade please let me know!).
• Extended the Polish translation to all the settings screens (Thank you to Artur Chlebek and Jolanta Kowalska for the translation). If you would like to extend any of the other translations too, please get in touch and I can explain how to do it.
• Increased the target android version so I can publish it on Play store (should not make any difference….).

As always, please let me know if you experience any issues with this new version. If you find it breaks your system, you can install the old version from the Github source code repository here: https://github.com/OpenSeizureDetector/Android_Pebble_SD/tree/master/app/release.

Thanks

Graham (graham@openseizuredetector.org.uk)

I have released the first public version of the SMS Annunciator App, which is designed to run on a carer’s phone and generate ‘difficult to miss’ alarm sounds when a Seizure Alert SMS text message is received from OpenSeizureDetector.

There is a new OpenSeizureDetector Components page to give an overview of the system, and a dedicated page that describes installation and usage of the SMS Annunciator. Note that it is not published on Google Play Store (I do not have permission from Google to use the READ_SMS permission), so the instructions are to download the installation file from our Github source code repository.

There is also a video demonstration here:

Please let me know if you use it, and feed back any issues (because I won’t be able to tell how many people try it with this installation method).

Thanks, Graham (graham@openseizuredetector.org.uk)

I haven’t had any reports of problems with V3.6.0, so I have published it on Play Store – it should be available for upgrade shortly. Changes in this release are:

• Adds support for the SMS Annunciator App that will make a carer’s phone generate alarms when an SMS seizure detected alert arives.
• Adds a ‘Bluetooth Data Source’ which will be used with future low cost seizure detector watches (currently works with a BangleJS watch, which is about half the price of a Garmin one)
• Adds a ‘Phone Sensor Data Source’ that uses the accelerometer in the phone rather than a watch (really for demonstration and testing without a watch, rather than a seizure detector

If you have any issues with it, you can uninstall it, and install the current version from the Github repository here: https://github.com/OpenSeizureDetector/Android_Pebble_SD/raw/V3.5/app/release/app-release-3.2.1.apk

Please report any problems to graham@openseizuredetector.org.uk

Graham.

I am about ready to publish V3.6.0 of the OpenSeizureDetector Android App on Google Play Store. The main changes are:

• Adds a special code to SMS Alert messages that can be picked up by the SMS Annunciator App to generate alarms when an SMS Seizure Detected Alert arrives.
• Adds a “Bluetooth Data Source” that is intended to be used by future low cost seizure detector watches. I currently have a working prototype that uses a BangleJS watch, which is about half the price of a compatible Garmin watch.
• Adds a “Phone Sensor Data Source” that uses the phone accelerometer rather than a watch – this is primarily for testing and demonstration, becuause it will be difficult to attach a phone to the forearm to use as a practical seizure detector – but it does work

I have checked that the Garmin watch seizure detector still works with this version, but I do not have a functioning Pebble set-up any more so have not tested that – does anyone still use a Pebble watch with OpenSeizureDetector? If so, please will you test this version before I publish it? You can install it from the Github repository here: https://github.com/OpenSeizureDetector/Android_Pebble_SD/raw/V3.5/app/release/app-release-3.6.0.apk.

If it does not work, please let me know. You can restore the old version by uninstalling this one and reinstalling it from Play Store.

Thanks

Graham (graham@openseizuredetector.org.uk)

We have a working version of the SMS Annunciator android app (https://github.com/OpenSeizureDetector/SMSAnnunciator) and there is a compiled .apk file that can be installed uploaded in the app/release folder.

I have been trying to get it published on Google Play Store, but am struggling because it uses the ‘Dangerous’ permission of READ_SMS – that is, it has to be able to read all incoming SMS text messages to check if they contain the code to show the message is a seizure alert.

I had hoped that because the main OpenSeizureDetector app has been granted permission to use the SEND_SMS permission to send a text message without user intervention, that I would be able to get permission to use READ_SMS too.

My proposal as been rejected twice, as has my appeal against the decision, because it does not come into one of the categories that are allowed an exemption (https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9047303?hl=en).

I tried proposing it as a “Physical Safety / Emergency Alerts to Send SMS”, but this was rejected (presumably because only the SEND_SMS permission is listed for that, and we are using READ_SMS. I then tried “Connected Device Companion Apps”, but that was again rejected (I am guessing because the seizure detection watch is not directly connected to the phone that is running the SMS Annunciator).

We may also have an issue because one of the ‘invalid uses’ is “SMS or Phone Notification Enhancement and Alerts [when not default handler]” – and it could be argued that this is what the SMS Annunciator App is.

So I’m a bit stuck, and don’t really feel like getting into a big argument with Google over it, so we might have to install the SMS annunciator manually from the source code repository, rather than via Google play store. There are two downsides to this:

• It looks suspicious for users (I never like being told I have to install an app from a web site rather than play store) – you will have to trust me that the .apk installation file on the web site is built from the published source code.
• I won’t be able to tell how many people are using it – and the more people that use it, the more inclined I am to improve it.

So I am not sure what to do – any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks, Graham (graham@openseizuredetector.org.uk)

Just in case you thought it was suspiciously quiet, the SMS Annunciator app (which will emit a continuous hard-to-miss alarm sound when a ‘Seizure Detected’ alert is received) is ready to be published on Google Play Store. I have produced this app because quite a few users were interested in using phone calls to generate alerts (which is what Embrace does), but the way I can see to make that work has privacy issues that I’d rather avoid.

Because the SMS Annunciator uses the ‘Dangerous’ permission to read SMS messages on the users’ phone, it needs special approval by Google. In the first iteration they pointed out that I had forgotten to reference a privacy policy – now fixed – my bad.

They also rejected my reasons for wanting the READ_SMS permission – I said it was for “Physical safety/emergency alerts to send SMS”, which is sort-of true, except this app is really receiving the emergency alerts, not sending them….This time I have tried saying it is “Connected device companion apps” – again this is sort-of true…except the connected device is connected to a different phone….

On a more positive side, Play Store seems to do some magical automated testing and it pointed out some potential crashes because of lack of error checking in my code, so I have fixed this at the same time. If you want to try it before it appears on Play Store, you can find it here: https://github.com/OpenSeizureDetector/SMSAnnunciator/raw/master/app/release/app-release-V1.0.4.apk.

If anyone has more experience of getting permissions approved by google and can suggest a way of getting the READ_SMS permission approved, please let me know.

Graham (graham@openseizuredetector.org.uk)

A user has reported an issue that the Garmin Seizure Detector does not work with Xiaomi phones – the OpenSeizureDetector phone app does not receive the data from the watch for some reason.

This seems to be limited to Xiaomi phones, so they must have some sort of additional security feature that is blocking the communications. I don’t have a Xiaomi phone so can not investigate it to look for a fix.

It is possible though that updating the MIUI application on the phone to version 11 or higher may fix it (See the discussion here).

Thank you to Alice for reporting the issue and Gert for confirming it.

Therefore please avoid using Xiaomi phones with OpenSeizureDetector (but let me know if you try and manage to get it working).

Thanks

Graham (graham@openseizuredetector.org.uk)

Thank you to everyone who commented on whether they would like phone call alerts, similar to those provided by Embrace or SeizAlarm. Quite a few users said they would like to have phone call alerts to supplement the SMS alerts. This is technically possible to do (I have a working prototype), but what it is likely to do is open up an audio connection between the user’s phone and the carer. This is fine in an emergency, but in a false alarm situation, there are privacy issues because the user may be doing something to cause the alarm that he/she would rather the carer did not hear, so I am a bit wary of publishing it…..

I think (please correct me if I am wrong) that the main reason for wanting phone alerts is a better notification – you get repeated ringing for a call, but only a single notification sound for an SMS, which is easier to miss. And I have a solution for this which avoids the privacy worries.

• The carer runs an app which monitors incoming SMS text messages to detect a special code which says the message is from OpenSeizureDetector.
• If the code is not found in the message, it is ignored.
• If the code is present, the app starts to make a repeated beep sound indefinitely, and displays a screen with an ‘Accept Alarm’ button on it.
• The beeping stops when the carer presses the ‘Accept’ button.

I think that this solution gives the improved carer notification using SMS, without the need to open a call – they can dial the user’s number if they want to check if it is a genuine seizure or a false alarm.

The new app that the carer needs on his/her phone is called the “SMS Annunciator” (if you have a better name suggestion, please let me know!). The version for testing is available from the source code repository here.

There is also a new version of the main OpenSeizureDetector App (V3.5.0a) which includes the inclusion of the required code in the text message so that the SMS Annunciator will respond to it. The test version of the main app is here.

Screenshots

Instructions for Testing

• Upgrade the user’s phone to use the test version of the OpenSeizureDetector app.
• Check that it still works as normal – if there are any issues, just uninstall it and re-install the version from Google Play Store. (There are quite a few changes behind the scenes because I have also introduced support for a BLE (bluetooth) data source that I am testing with a BangleJS watch, so I may have broken something…).
• Enable SMS alerts and check that these are also sent as they were before (but note that there is a 6 character code on the end of the message that was not present previously).
• Have a carer install the SMS Annunciator on their phone.
• Opening the SMS Annunciator app should briefly show a fairly blank screen, with a prompt to accept permission to read SMS messages. The blank-ish screen disappears when the permissions have been accepted, then a Green OpenSeizureDetector icon should appear in the status bar.
• Initiate an SMS alert by either shaking the arm wearing the watch, or using the ‘Test SMS Alert” menu item on the user’s phone.
• When the SMS arrives on the carer’s phone, it should make a loud ‘beep-beep-beep’ noise repeatedly, and a screen should appear that has a big red ‘Accept Alarm’ button.
• Pressing the ‘Accept Alarm’ button should stop the beeping (until the second OpenSeizureDetector SMS arrives and sets it off again).
• The ‘Stop’ button on the screen allows the SMS Annunciator to be shut down so it will not alarm when SMS messages arrive.

Please report any issues to graham@openseizuredetector.org.uk or the Facebook page.