it would be easier if it could just read my mind

[cellio]

The trip home from Pennsic involved detours at both ends, so I decided to turn on the GPS app on my phone (Android, Navigator, came pre-loaded) for a running commentary. (Good thing, too; the obvious path out of Cooper's Lake wasn't.) This experience reminded me of some things I really want a GPS to do for me. It's possible that it already does some of these; I'm an infrequent GPS user and was fiddling with it at the side of a rural road.

I want to constrain a route without spelling it out: "Go home from here, taking Route 422 rather than staying on 19 and, in Pittsburgh, detouring through downtown instead of via Liberty Bridge". I can, of course, just do that and let it recalculate, as I did, but I would like it to take that information into account in case there's a better way to execute that plan.

I want it to learn from its recalculations. In an ideal world I would be able to turn it on in "observer" mode while I drive, and then later tell it to navigate as close to my usual habits as possible. My GPS should be able to learn that I don't like the eastbound 376 entrance in Squirrel Hill, or the West End Bridge, or Carson Street during rush hours.

I want to be able to tell it take current conditions into account. My phone knows that it's currently pouring rain or dark; I should be able to tell it "prefer local roads over highways during heavy rain" or "try not to take Business 22 at night" or even "check conditions up ahead and advise me on when to take a rest stop" (for longer trips).

That's just until the self-driving cars are ready, of course.

Comments

[hrj.livejournal.com]

The "specific route" feature can sometimes be faked by adding waypoints (if your program supports that).

[cellio]

Thanks, I'll look for that.

oh yes!

[meiravberale.livejournal.com]

oh yes! I'm new to the GPS thing and would love it to be able to do all that!!!

[starmalachite.livejournal.com]

I haven't used GPS much, so I can't advise there.

It may not play well with your eyes, but Google Maps lets you alter their suggested route by mousing over the (purple, IIRC) line that indicates it on the map display & dragging it onto another street or road. It then recalculates a new set of directions.

You can also make & save custom maps.

Re:

[cellio]

I've done that using the web interface, but hadn't thought to see if the Google Maps app does a better job than the Navigator app on this. One important GPS feature (to me) is audio and I wouldn't expect the former to talk to me, but I'll have to check that assumption. (My GPS must talk to me, because I'm not going to keep picking it up to look at it while driving and there is no place where I could safely mount it and still see it.)

[http://users.livejournal.com/merle_/]

I want it to learn from its recalculations. In an ideal world I would be able to turn it on in "observer" mode while I drive, and then later tell it to navigate as close to my usual habits as possible.

Yes. Exactly. Tech just isn't there yet, and if it were all your travel data would be in the cloud for anyone to steal, but that's my paranoia talking.

[cellio]

Yeah, I'd rather be able to configure local storage for that, but -- so long as the "observer mode" was on-demand rather than always-on -- I'd accept it being in the cloud.

[alienor.livejournal.com]

There are certain sections of the I-95 corridor just north of Richmond that are about equal travel time (according to GPS) by going through DC or taking the rural route over the US-301 bridge. I prefer the bridge 99% of the time (because DC traffic!).

I was in one of these sections last week, but it was at a time that I didn't care which route I took. The GPS was so confused that it took me in circles for 15 minutes because as I would drive along the route, the other route would become shorter!

Sometimes these things just aren't smart.

[richardf8]

We rented a car in Jerusalem to drive up to the Golan. They gave us an iPad with iGo. It wanted me to take highway 1. When I struck north on Highway 6 (the toll road) it kept trying to get me to go back to Highway one. Anyway the thing's car charger wasn't working and it shortly died.

And there was much rejoicing.

We got where we wanted the old fashioned way - Morgan reading the map beside me.

Afterward, we went to visit a friend in Netanya and i plotted a route on my ipod touch using google maps, which always goes for shrotest. We wound up hopelessly lost in a development still under construction and had to call our friend for assistance. That was when I could have really used the iPad's assisnce but it was dead. We got a refund from Avis for the iPad rental.

[dragonazure.livejournal.com]

Apparently, Chevrolet has some new technology available as part of an option package that helps you park the car. I think that I would not like that feature--at least not at first. On the other hand, there aren't many places around here that force parallel parking (unlike what I remember of Pittsburgh).