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Consumer GPS navigation aids are pretty good for getting from one town to another. But they are somewhat less useful for pedestrians, the accuracy of the mapping being on a fairly large scale - fine for vehicles, but less good for those on foot, particulalry those who are driven by a combination of a
thirst for accuracy and extreme laziness.
Most people have no doubt wondered, when making a journey on foot where several routes are available, about how to work out the most efficient path. Down the main street and then left ? Up that side street, across the car park and then through the alley ? Cross the road by the pub, or down by the traffic lights ? And of course, one must factor in the variations in elevation over the route ...
With the new BorgCo advanced GPS, your doubts are soothed. On the generously-sized colour LCD display, you will find a dynamically updated map and instructions that tells you with millimetric accuracy whether to walk on the sunny side of the street, or not, as appropriate.
Walking directions in Google Maps
http://maps.google....71&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=13
I don't know if there is a way to upload directions to a GPS, but this would be close to what you want. [Klaatu, Apr 29 2010]
XKCD
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/paths.jpg
Oh dear. [8th of 7, Feb 12 2012]
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Annotation:
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//How does your device create this milimetric accuracy?// |
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By using the Galileo positioning system, rather than shitty
GPS...? |
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Okay [8th], I batted that one away for you- but the follow up
is worse: what's new here? I mean, [21Q] has a point in that
you don't say why this would be technically better than GPS
and [Klaatu] points out that there are pedestrian uses of GPS. |
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//whether to walk on the sunny side of the street//
<sound of penny dropping> |
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Ah! The niche that you're aiming is the topology graph.
Someone has to input the street coordinates to create a
mapping to location coordinates. There aren't 'cut corners'
approaches - Google maps doesn't calculate my pedestrian
route with an allowance to walk across a football field, for
instance.
So topological detail is the real innovation.
Accuracy is needed, but it's not the main point of the idea. |
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Yeah, I've been given directions down the length of the UK
that went across the Irish Sea, instead of the perfectly good
roads. Google's point topology and their sorting algorithm are
not %100 by any means. That kind of thing is an artefact of
their system - not a short-cut! |
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[Jinbish], yes - topology to a very high accuracy, much better than the crude WSGS84 geoid; and the path is optimised using curves, corners, diagonals - anything to save a slightest bit of physical effort. |
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[Ian] Whilst not wanting to get too 'zen' about it, obstacles are only in your path because you're focussing on them. Literally, I mean. If you walk towards a seething crowd of people and avoid any sort of eye contact by maintaining a steady focus on a point about 20 metres behind the crowd which you walk straight towards, you'll find that the crowd will magically part and allow you through. Try it - it works. |
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//future of badly structured clusters of slow and clueless tourists.// |
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Ok - so we need some combined P2P Bluetooth & GPS location & path analysis to start generating the "best route". |
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Or take [hippo]'s approach. To use a sporting cliché: it's about who (w)ants it more! |
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...or any other kind of insect - it's not just confined to ants. |
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[hippo], now leave your ripped black combat outfit and large axe at home and try it again. |
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I've been plagued by typos recently. Sorry guys. |
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Condition of street lighting and local crime figures might be a useful addition . |
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[Quietly closes door and walks off] |
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[Opens door a crack and peeks in. Quickly shuts it and tiptoes away.] |
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<Crushes Chlorpromazine tablets with spoon, surreptitously stirs into [IT]'s mug of tea> |
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It's good to see Ian in a good mood for a change. (I
for one enjoy his descriptions, they are what I'm
thinking, usually, just don't say.) |
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[one big hand waving at Klaatu and his link]...!!! |
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Yeah, it was easy enough for Aurelius to say that: his name wasn't forgotten. The poor sap that he said that to, however, is just nameless dust and bones... |
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One out of two ain't bad ... |
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[Ian] - glad to see you didn't let it affect you too much |
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Indeed, [IT] is clearly in touch with his inner Tourette's Sufferer ... |
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Soooo, how are we feeling today Mr Tindale? |
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[Ian] you don't by any chance happen to work for the
same employer as your present interlocutor, do you?
Only I recognise the symptoms. |
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