

UX Idea: Real Turn-by-Turn Navigation - ziyadb
http://kyrobeshay.com/post/37837706193/ux-idea-real-turn-by-turn-navigation

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potatolicious
> _"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.

~~~
bluetidepro
That was my exact thought. This is a good idea once the compass doesn't suck
as bad, but until then this feature would be just as frustrating because of
the high potential for error. It would be no different than the frustration
you already face, just in a new design.

~~~
dllthomas
I am not sure. We may be more sensitive to smaller misalignment looking down
at a spinning triangle than out at the world. If I get a "go!" and it is 10
degrees off, I will still be following the correct street in the correct
direction.

~~~
cbhl
The problem is that the compass won't be off by just 10 degrees -- it could be
off by 90 or more degrees because of overhead wires or the magnet in your
wallet or anything else nearby that happens to have electricity flowing
through it.

~~~
dllthomas
Oh, for sure there are degrees of wrong that would break any reliance on the
compass - no question. My point was simply that this approach may have better
results sooner.

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alexhawdon
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.

~~~
easytiger
I've driven thousands of miles via android TbT navigation and surely for many
of those i was out of signal. But because of the way it gets a complete
direction list at the beginning it seems to never run out of things to say. I
think this is an issue that's already been solved for most people's use cases.

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calciphus
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.

~~~
aidos
Which is exactly how it's always worked on the iPhone (since getting a compass
in 2009).

I'm pretty direction savvy but I find that whole spinning map thing pretty
confusing. I think this interface is nicer - turn right, turn right, walk.
Seems really intuitive to me.

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therandomguy
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.

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kzasada
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.)

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stcredzero
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?)

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greggman
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.

~~~
akennberg
Don't be frustrated. The challenge is not in building the app itself but
getting very accurate data about the physical world. The density in Japan
helps justify the costs required to collect this data.

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zachrose
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.

~~~
Nursie
A candy-bar sized device with some sort of built-in vibration function?

You'd need a microcontroller and a bluetooth module, but I think I know where
you can get a prototype. They usually have a grip-friendly and rain-protecting
latex outer shell too...

~~~
Terretta
But then users would be constantly selecting "most turns" routes.

~~~
zachrose
Are you guys talking about dildos?

~~~
Nursie
Uh.... no? Why would we be talking about that? ;)

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freework
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!

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caffeineninja
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.

~~~
kyro
This is more for foot transport, and it's not a turn-by-street, but rather
more literally a stand-in-place and turn-to-your-right type thing.

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Aloisius
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.

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gringofyx
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

~~~
murbard2
Don't show street view, show the camera's feed and correlate it with street
view, the GPS position and the compass in order to superimpose directions on
the image.

Light condition changes would be a pretty tough problem to solve though.

~~~
Terretta
Isn't it extraordinary that you're carrying a device powerful enough to make
your suggestion plausible?

~~~
murbard2
Yes, and it's equally depressing that it's implausible you do that for a
little while without totally draining the battery.

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

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bjonathan
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.

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markkanof
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.

~~~
kyro
I should've clarified, but this is more for foot transportation.

~~~
Terretta
I find walking with the map on auto-rotate mode helps friends with spatial
orientation problems find their way, as does using sat view.

Personally, I prefer "North Up" view, even in automobile GPS. I find this
improves imprinting of location and orientation through the spatial
relationships, leaving me better able to navigate without the GPS.

~~~
rciorba
Anything but North Up confuses the hell out of me.

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

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meaty
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.

~~~
aidos
_"When you’re on foot just stepping off the bus at a crowded intersection..."_

I think you missed the point. It's not an aide to use while you're following
the directions (like a TomTom). It's there so you know which way to walk at
the start of your journey.

