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Learning Satnav

So your car can write on the maps. Sort of.
  (+15)(+15)
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Apologies if this is baked, but I have no knowledge of it if it is...

Woah, hold on - 5 two letter words in a row - is that some sort of record? Anyway...

I drive a lot in Portugal, where many new motorways are currently being built.

A couple of years ago, the only possible route to my destination was via a twisty-turny mountain road which took 2 hours. Now that the motorway is in place, the journey takes 45 minutes.

The motorway in question isn't on my satnav map, so my on-screen progress appears to be across undefined terrain.

If my satnav could 'learn' routes, it would know for next time that there is a newer, quicker route.

Sure, you can probably (eventually) get updated maps and load them on, but that still wouldn't satisy me. And I'll tell you why...

The area in question is very rural, and many of the roads I drive on are (for want of a better word) too 'irrelevant' to be included. For example, I had to go and pick someone up from a train station, and although the train-track was shown on the map, none of the surrounding roads were.

You get the idea...

jtp, Sep 09 2007

Earthmate GPS http://www.earthmat...m/eausbstatusa.html
You even have a choice of voices and it will also respond to voice commands such as "Are we there yet?" or "Next turn?" [Klaatu, Sep 10 2007]

[link]






       "Please confirm that this route exists, and that you wish me to advise you to use it again, and that you did not just drunkenly drive through a succession of farmer's fields"
normzone, Sep 09 2007
  

       [+]. If this isn't a feature of some Sate Navis already, it ought to be.
MaxwellBuchanan, Sep 09 2007
  

       //of it if it is...//   

       that's somehow very beautiful. of it if it is. i like saying it.   

       [edit: and then i read your next line... guess i'm not alone in liking it!]
k_sra, Sep 10 2007
  

       in naval maps on gps devices you can add reefs and suchlike, never heard of it for car gps though, would be a great addition.   

       google just spews out a lot of sentences ending in "of it", the next beginning with "if it is". there is one that goes "[...]of it. If it is put on so as to be [...]" i think you are on to something - it is possibly the nearest living relative to an acronym.
loonquawl, Sep 10 2007
  

       Yup, and then connect it up to a database on the net so everyone can share their satnav short cuts [+].   

       My Pops had a speed camera detector thing that worked on GPS, beeping repeatedly if you were approaching one. You could also add new ones, pressing a button if you drive past a camera that the beeper didn't know about, the location for which is then uploaded to a central hub for the use of everyone on the service.
theleopard, Sep 10 2007
  

       I'm working in North Africa, where there's no (non-military) SatNav mapping. I use some freeware GPS software on my Pocket PC that allows me to download Google Earth maps and will remember routes. Technically good solution, but sadly though, no sexy female voice telling me what to do... [+]
Anchovy, Sep 10 2007
  

       I feel like a broken record, but:   

       The Earthmate GPS Mapping program does exactly this. As new roads are built you travel over them. The "bread crumb" trail can be drawn over and named. This allows future routing along this road. You can even specify the road type (toll, 4 lane divided, rural) and speed limit for planning purposes. You may even specify if it is a one-way street.   

       I have been using this program for over 6 years and would not travel without it.   

       <link>
Klaatu, Sep 10 2007
  

       <Obligatory>I was hoping this would be learning how to give directions in lat/long coordinates. "Please proceed 4 minutes 29.3 seconds West / 2 minutes 13.6 seconds north until the first curve..."
RayfordSteele, Sep 12 2007
  

       I'm about to break your record: 'if it is as it is or go if it is not.'
RayfordSteele, Mar 13 2008
  

       //connect it up to a database on the net so everyone can share their satnav short cuts//   

       WikiSatnav, the online map that anyone can edit!   

       If you run into trouble on your journey - maybe a mistake on the map, or even road works or congestion - just press the "Edit" button on your satnav and update the database in real time. Other WikiSatnav users behind you will instantly be able to avoid the problem.   

       Of course it wouldn't be very trustworthy. It would be too prone to pranks and hoaxes, just like Wikipedia.
Wrongfellow, Jul 06 2008
  

       Please confirm that this route exists, and that you wish me to advise you to use it again, and that you did not just drunkenly drive through a succession of farmer's fields
beanangel, Jul 06 2008
  

       Several GPS receivers will allow you to record tracks as you drive them. It's near waypoints in the functions, usually. That may not be possible in fancy car models, though.   

       I've tracked several new roads on older units, and even downloaded them into computers to make maps. Mostly, though, I just use the tracks by looking at them on the screen to find my way back out of wherever I am lost.   

       After looking at my Garmin Etrex Legend, I find that next to "tracks", there is a "route" function that I've not yet used. I think that would allow me to connect waypoints into a route to follow. Maybe I could teach the thing.
baconbrain, Jul 06 2008
  

       [beanangel] - is there an echo in here?
Custardguts, Jul 07 2008
  

       Turn left at the next intersection, Dave [+]
xxobot, Jul 07 2008
  
      
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