Friday, March 22, 2024

Turn by Turn Navigation for Touring - Looking for the Better App / Smart Waypoint Skipping

GPX + Travel + Navigation Apps

Obviously, there won't be something like 'the best' app, as everyone has a different goal and wish list. But after looking at so many websites and apps I still found it impossible to pick out the right app.

One thing I knew though: it needed some sort of smart waypoint skipping.

So I decided to simply test a few different apps.


Goal

My goal isn't to find the app that produces the shortest, fastest route. My goal is to find an app that will take a .GPX file or something similar, and which then will help me navigate through that route.

(Note: this is aimed at cars and motorbikes, not bicycles or runners. It's easier to 'reroute' when cycling or running, but it can be very hard when in a car.)

In it's most basic form that would simply be a route drawn on top of a topographic map without any intelligence, where the driver would have to look at the screen to check if he / she is going (and still following the planned route).

If the app could process a .GPX file, and deliver turn-by-turn images on screen, that would be better.

One step above that would be spoken instructions.

And of course, best of the best would be an app that not only brings the driver back to the planned route, but that would be smart enough to help the driver to the next waypoint if the last one was missed.


The test route

This route has been created in the free version of the MRA Routeplanner (see here for a blog post on .GPX in general, and several Windows / Web based tools).

I picked this route because it's a. not too far away, b. it's a mix of different road types, c. I found out when visiting that some of these roundabouts seriously confuse some of the navigation apps, and d. should offer enough opportunities to stop and fiddle around with whatever app I'm testing.


(Click on image to enlarge.)

The route includes some waypoints that I'm deliberately going to skip, to see how the navigation app deals with such issues, and to see what actions I have to take to skip one or more waypoints. You can image that it should be as simple and easy as possible, as you want to keep your eyes on the road, not on your phone!

So, as for the map above...

1. Follow the green xections on the route!

2. Skip the crossed out waypoints!


Waypoints

An overview of the waypoints and their coordinates:

1. Start

- 51.919481, 4.537285

- parking area

2. Skip this point!

- 51.916850, 4.542143

- see sketch, follow the indicated route but bypass this point

- will the system automatically pick up the route at 3 and en continue to 4

- or will it try to lead back to point 2?

3. Waypoint

- 51.915111, 4.546396

4. Industrial area

- 51.910040, 4.547323

- chance to correct missed waypoint number 2

5. Waypoint

- 51.917200, 4.560855

6. Parking area (David LLoyd)

- 51.923203, 4.573004

- this is a private parking area, although it can be accessed

- chance to make corrections

7. Skip this point!

- 51.968295, 4.624094

- just continue on the N219 to waypoint 8

- skip it! 

8. Small parking area

- 51.970997, 4.625313

- can be used to correct missed waypoint 7

- but... if the app works well you can simply skip it 

9. Skip this point!

- 51.966957, 4.587830

- gas station next to highway

- skip it!

10. End

- 51.919499, 4.537090

- parking area


Google Maps

... isn't usable for this test, but just for fun I created a route by entering the coordinates into Google Maps, and it came up with this:


(Click image to enlarge.)


I prepared three files:

  • a combined route + track .GPX file
  • a route only file
  • a track only file


When preparing this file I noticed that MRA Routeplanner can only save the first type with both route and track, not route or track only. Some apps might want a single route / track file, so I tried to generate them.


Stripping route / track data

GPX Studio

I tried to remove the track information using GPX Studio, but once it saves the file it turns the route into a track... That might confuse other apps.


Babel Error (and fix)

Babel kept giving an error. A little fooling around showed that the GUI isn't entirely fool proof. If the file names are given in certain ways (including spaces maybe?) it can result in an odd output and error message.

Here's an example of an input and output filename that worked fine:

Input - "C:/googledrive/gpx/2 - mra routeplanner.gpx"

Output - C:\googledrive\gpx\2 - babel track only.gpx


If you specify the input and output file using the 'File Name' buttons it will be okay.



Apps

I'm testing a bunch of apps, and will update this page based on the results and add some links to individual reviews, where and if they deserve one 😏


Untested

I've still some candidates left, but I can already tell you that I did get some good results! Keep reading!

Untested (yet):

  • Tom Tom Go - hardware
  • Kurviger
  • Garmin - hardware
  • ...


Fail

Remember: this isn't about the best route planner or fastest navigator, it's about the navigation app that provides the best routes and is the easiest to use when following routes available as .GPX files.

Google Maps

Google Maps is not well suited for this task, unfortunately, as it can't properly import .GPX files, and is limited in the number of waypoints.

GPXSee

This is just a viewer. It will project the GPS track over a map, but it will not do rerouting, nor will it care about (missing) waypoints. So it's rather useless unless you have a co-pilot on-board, but if you're on a motorbike or alone in your car it's too distracting.

OsmAnd / OsmAnd+

With all the options (and the complex and confusing interface and pricing model) I had high hopes for this one, but I couldn't find any form of 'auto waypoint skip' nor convenient 'manual waypoint skip'. So, that's a no-go.

Frankly, I was expecting something better. 

Sygic

Wouldn't load .GPX files, and doesn't seem to have an 'auto waypoint bypass' mechanism.

I've used the offline maps of Sigil when traveling in the USA - ten years ago or so, to avoid the crazy roaming data charges - and the app worked perfectly. 

Tom Tom Amigo - app

No way to load .GPX files.

Tom Tom Rider - app

Although it can load .GPX files it was ignoring routepoints, just using track points. It also removed the loaded files from my Google Drive, so that's a definite no go!

Waze

Same story as Google Maps


Pass!

Three apps passed the test, though there are some caveats... I'll post my findings on those in the coming days. Here are the links (if they don't work then the new post isn't up yet, just wait a few days):


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