Ask Scouter to Observe

Overview

Ask Scouter to look for what is happening in a place around the way you want to spend time there, then receive the result as a public card. You need to be signed in to a Topo account and connected to the internet. Topo v1.2 is available on iPhone running iOS 17.6 or later.

Steps

1. Tap the black capsule-shaped control on the Topo map.
2. Open the place menu and choose Request Observation.
3. Choose the purpose closest to what you want to do there: Activity, Break, or Explore.
4. Review the public visibility and your available allowance shown on screen, then submit the request.
5. When observation finishes and a card is created, you can view it as a public card. If notifications are allowed, you will also receive a notification when it completes.

Things to Know

• On cards created by someone else, answering a question from Scouter can reveal the Request Observation button.
• Scouter observes the area around the center of the main map or the place attached to the selected card.
• Observation results are shared as public cards. Information about the requester and My Memos are not public.
• Your weekly base allowance depends on rank: Explorer has 2 requests, Scout and Guide have 4, and Guardian has 7.
• Base allowances reset every Monday at 9:00 AM Japan Standard Time.
• Depending on overall request activity, Topo may issue additional tickets. Additional tickets have an expiry and are used after the base allowance is exhausted.
• Availability depends on a weekly base allowance, additional tickets, and a concurrent-request limit. You can check remaining requests, pending requests, and the next reset time in Settings. A request is not sent if no allowance remains or the concurrent limit is full.
• The same place has a cooldown before another request can be made. If the screen shows guidance, wait a while before trying again.
• Observation continues after a request is accepted even if you close the screen. Allow Topo notifications in device settings to receive a completion notification.
• A card usually arrives about one to three minutes after the request, but it can take longer depending on demand, information retrieval, or network conditions. If there is not enough verifiable information, a card may not be created. An observation failure or request expiry may also appear.

Related Articles

• Topo v1.2 Release Notes
• What Is Scouter?
• Answer Questions from Scouter
• About Scouter Notifications