from Hacker News

UX Idea: Real Turn-by-Turn Navigation

by ziyadb on 12/13/12, 4:30 PM with 41 comments

• by potatolicious on 12/13/12, 4:43 PM

  > "It’s hard to orient yourself, at least for me, and that’s when the dance begins (let’s not get into the figure-8 rave that Apple sometimes asks me to do to recalibrate the compass)."

  But the suckiness of the compass is also what prevents us from implementing author's feature.

  I mean, isn't this whole feature a response to "the compass/blue arrow sucks and is inaccurate, often not working at all, and is laggy and slow to respond even when it works". It would seem that implementing a new UX around it won't really help, since the new "fill up turn bar" would be just as unreliable and error-prone as its blue-arrow predecessor.

• by alexhawdon on 12/13/12, 5:16 PM

  As others have pointed out, it's the noisiness of the compass sensor itself that's the real problem - this isn't something that can be fixed in UI.

  Assuming you're pointing the device in the direction of travel, you can move forwards and combine the new position information to reduce this noise - I believe Google Maps does this on Android.

  One could possibly envisage also using data from the phone's camera and corresponding it to street view images which (presumably) all have a known direction. There would be issues with the amount of data being sent up to Google to do this and the experience would be a bit wacky as you'd have to point your phone up (or at least horizontally, assuming you weren't surrounded by pedestrians etc) and maybe scan it around a bit...

  You've got me thinking about Google Maps in general though. A feature I'd love to see is a map layer for mobile network coverage. I'm taking a trip this weekend somewhere quite rural and would like to try out the turn-by-turn directions, and it would be good to know ahead of time if some cruicial point in the route simply isn't covered by a signal - you never know until it's too late! They could perhaps combine this with the routing algorithm to offer you an alternate route where you don't have to make a turn in a no-reception area. When caching is implemented further down the line this could be used to provide a sensible 'minimal caching' option that just stores the bits you won't be able to receive on the road.

• by calciphus on 12/13/12, 6:13 PM

  So...Google Maps for Android has this feature, and has for at least the last two years.

  If you tap the little compass icon in the top right, you switch from "north is up" orientation to "current user direction". This uses the compass and not direction of travel, by the way, because it works if you spin around on the spot.

  I've never had a problem with the compass. In fact, I've never had to recalibrate my compass. But then again, I don't have an iPhone.

• by therandomguy on 12/13/12, 5:50 PM

  The suggested functionality is already present in the UI and also it is not as intrusive. It is the blue arrow when you start navigation. You are supposed to keep turning till the blue arrow aligns with the blue route. It is not very effective because the compass sucks. Your UI addition will face the same problem.

• by kzasada on 12/13/12, 5:12 PM

  I was thinking this same thing this morning as I tried to figure out where I needed to go once I got off the subway using the new google maps. This is a neat idea, but I wouldn't use it until I feel confident in the GPS and compass in my phone being accurate. Right now it's only right about 50-75% of the time (an one fo the times when it is notoriously bad is when it is finding its bearings after being without servie underground.)

• by stcredzero on 12/13/12, 8:56 PM

  As it has been noted, the one primary problem is with data. The other is with deciphering user conventions in referring to that data. The Nokia maps app for iOS knows where the nearest supermarket is to me, but still refers to it as "Albertson's."

  When human beings give directions, they can use information from the other party to improve their directions. How is this done with maps apps currently? I guess turn-by-turn apps can detect when someone deviates from the directions and use this data as feedback.

  I wonder how much a maps/navigation app would benefit from being able to detect exclamations of anger? Or, even simpler, what if there was a "WRONG!" button positioned right where someone could press it on impulse? Or let users violently shake the device to let the server know they're mad? (Maybe activate a sound recording of their complaint for that 10 second timespan?)

• by greggman on 12/13/12, 6:04 PM

  Japanese phones have had that feature since 2006 with first person 3d views. You see the buildings in 3d in first person. It's pretty easy to figure out where to go

  http://blog.greggman.com/blog/cell_phones_keep_on_advancing/

  I find it frustrating the pretty much all smartphone navigation systems are not as good as 10 year old Japanese car navigation systems. They show 3d views as you go, which lane you should be in, Warn you about lanes to avoid. They'll even show buildings and bridges translucently to portray in first person that you need to go around behind the building or pass the on ramp of an elevated freeway and then uturn under the freeway and back to the other side.

• by zachrose on 12/13/12, 5:22 PM

  I would happily carry a candy bar-sized object that connects wirelessly to the map app on my phone and haptically let's me know when it's pointed in the right direction. This would mean that: 1) A better compass can be used and 2) I don't have to look down at my phone.

• by freework on 12/13/12, 6:32 PM

  This blog talks about a problem that I've ran to a bunch of times as well. I use smartphone navigation almost exclusively for biking and on-the-foot traveling almost exclusively. I have the same problem where I'm supposed to walk three blocks south, and one block west, but I can't figure out which direction is south, so I end up walking in the wrong direction.

  The solution I came up with is a simple breadcrumbs feature. Every 30 seconds, the map drops a marker down on the map (going back 100 meters or so) to give you an orientation. I haven't tried out the new Google Maps app, but if they have this feature, I'm sold!

• by caffeineninja on 12/13/12, 6:45 PM

  Nice idea, but you're missing out on a lot of points.

  1) Turn right where? You need the street name.

  2) Changing the icon to Go, you're relying on the user to remember what state the dialog was in. Bad idea. When you're driving and have a lot of things going on, you're not going to remember what the dialog directed them to do.

  3) Adding distance remaining indicators has always been confusing because it's difficult to translate what distance the navigation app is giving you to real world distance. "Turn. Right. In. Five-Hundred. Meters". SUDDENLY RIGHT TURN, SLAM BRAKES, SCREEEEEECH.

  You get the idea.

• by Aloisius on 12/14/12, 1:19 AM

  My car navigation system has something like this.

  It shows a simple flat picture of the intersection oriented from the car's direction with the exact path to take overlayed on the map view when it is time to turn. It is extremely helpful for things like traffic circles where four or even five exits may exist.

• by gringofyx on 12/13/12, 5:26 PM

  I was thinking about a similar idea today, why isn't navigation done in Street View??? So many times I've driven past a turning because I've not been sure if that's the right one.

  If Street View was used for directions, then this guys problems would be solved because he could pick out the landmarks

• by iamdann on 12/13/12, 6:21 PM

  Unrelated, but I used to live right there for about 4 years. Always fun to see stuff like that.

• by bjonathan on 12/13/12, 4:54 PM

  Very interesting, but why change the button when it's time to "Go"? You could keep the arrow and just change the background color to green.

  This will also allow me if I am distract to know where to go.

• by markkanof on 12/13/12, 5:32 PM

  This seems destined to cause a huge number of car accidents. Instead of looking at the road people will be staring at the screen watching to see if they have turned enough.

• by electic on 12/13/12, 8:34 PM

  This is not a good idea. It requires you to "look" at the screen. A good nav app has great voice prompts alongside accuracy.

• by meaty on 12/13/12, 6:21 PM

  Bad idea. If you have to stare at that going round a corner you are going to end up stuck in the back of a bus.