Google Maps Can Now Navigate Inside Tunnels (theverge.com) 38
Google Maps is about to get better at showing directions inside tunnels. A new feature spotted by SmartDroid allows the Android version of the app to use Bluetooth beacons to track your location in areas where GPS signals typically can't reach. The Verge: These beacons transmit Bluetooth signals that give location data to your phone, according to the Google-owned Waze, which already supports the feature. The app then uses this information along with the device's mobile connectivity to "provide real-time traffic data as it would with a typical GPS connection."
Very handy for... (Score:3)
...tunnels that contain complex and confusing interchanges
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Very Handy (Score:4, Funny)
That's cool. It will come in handy next time I get lost in a tunnel.
Re:Very Handy (Score:5, Informative)
You joke, but there are many situations this is useful. For example the Kaisermühlentunnel in Vienna. It's not a very long tunnel but there are 4 possible exits in it, 5 if you count the one right at the north exit that comes up before your phone gets a new GPS fix, and 2 of the exits lead to an interchange that keeps you still in another tunnel where the exit connects to an underground road network which can feed directly into underground garages of the UN building.
Or in Brisbane Australia where the Clem7 tunnel was simple. Right until they build the AirportLink tunnel that connected to it at one common junction for the Inner City Bypass meaning there are now several exits to the tunnel you need to plan for way in advance. GPS navigation never announces them at the right time.
Or the Westconnex in Sydney were the M4, M5, M8, and Iron Cove Link all connect up underground with 33km of tunnels which also is just a complete mess of underground highway interchanges.
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How Do You Get Lost? (Score:3, Insightful)
How do you get lost in a typical vehicle or railroad tunnel?
Seriously ... think about that.
A typical road or rail tunnel is a tube between two endpoints that have openings, like a drinking straw.
Yeah, there are some interesting tunnels out there that have main tunnel routes with multiple "on" and "off" ramps ("exits"), but they generally have signs telling you what that exit is and where it goes, so...
... Get your ears, mouth, and nose away from your phones cuz that's how accidents happen. I know that's Sooo BOOMER ! but it's true.
So ... Pay good attention when you drive.
And above all - Learn.To.Read.The.Road.Signs. Those signs exist for very good reasons.
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I have been to Boston ... many times. Pre- and Post - Big Dig.
I know because ... I Read The Road Signs
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There's not enough time 93 Southbound to change lanes in heavy traffic where they have the signs.
It's fine if you've done it before or traffic is light.
Or if somehow none of the drivers are from Boston, then maybe somebody would let you in.
I've had Maps' dead reckoning keep me from overshooting an exit.
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> ... Get your ears, mouth, and nose away from your phones cuz that's how accidents happen. I know that's Sooo BOOMER ! but it's true.
Honest questions. You don't use any electronic maps product in the car? Or do you use paper maps while driving? And have you never taken a wrong exit because of a confusing sign?
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> ... Get your ears, mouth, and nose away from your phones cuz that's how accidents happen. I know that's Sooo BOOMER ! but it's true.
Honest questions. You don't use any electronic maps product in the car? Or do you use paper maps while driving? And have you never taken a wrong exit because of a confusing sign?
Honest answers:
- I do not use electronic or paper maps while in the car.
- Yes, I have gotten off at the wrong exit or made a wrong turn in the past, but that is usually happens once or twice at most (see below).
- When travelling I study a map of my destinations beforehand, either electronic or paper, to figure out where I need to go and how to get to and from various places.
My memory does the "map work" for me. I don't think my memory is "photographic" (whatever that is), but it works well for me. If I go t
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Many large cities have road tunnels that have exits and branches underground, it's not just in-and-out.
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It says right in the summary that they use it to give information about traffic levels in tunnels.
Google uses speed data, calculated from GPS, to see how fast traffic is flowing relative to the speed limit of the road. They account for things like junctions. If the traffic is moving slowly, or at a standstill, they know that the road is congested and tell other Google Maps/Waze users to avoid it.
They can now do that in tunnels as well, which is arguably even more valuable than doing it in the open air becau
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This isn't new (Score:2)
Really this is about tracking. (Score:2)
Well, until you turn off bluetooth.
Re: Really this is about tracking. (Score:2)
This is really to help them, not you. (Score:4, Interesting)
They need this to determine the traffic conditions inside tunnels, so they can better determine navigational routing for users.
Being able to show you moving on a map inside a tunnel is sort of a bonus.
Re: This is really to help them, not you. (Score:2)
Dear god we need an alternative (Score:1)
Re: Dear god we need an alternative (Score:2)
I don't let Google use me, haven't for over a decade. And no, I do not get lost.
Plenty alternatives out there for Android/AOSP. Admittedly, Apple doesn't allow FOSS like OSM. Maybe that'll improve soon, when sideloading becomes a thing.
Also, why don't nav tools use the device's accelerometers when GPS is momentarily unavailable, like in tunnels? What am I missing, tech-wise?
Re: Dear god we need an alternative (Score:2)
Yes, downloading maps beforehand is exactly what I do with OsmAnd. No need for data connection whatsoever.
Fwiw, I can continue my phone calls in tunnels just fine, so data should work fine, too, even when GPS fails. Phone reception is much less susceptible to line-of-sight issues than GPS reception btw.
And I guess even Google Maps / Waze cache map data for the area, I don't see where lack of map data would become problematic in practice.
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There are plenty of navigation alternatives to Google Maps:
- Garmin
- TomTom
- Apple Maps
There are others.
https://gisgeography.com/googl... [gisgeography.com]
Of course, none of them are as *good* as Google Navigation, but if you hate Google that much, there are options.
Why just now? (Score:3)
Yes, I know not all phones have the needed gyro for dead reckoning, but most have have had one for a while now. Also larger tunnels will often have cell sites in them and the later generation cell sites can also provide positioning information.
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Google Maps has been stealing their baby brother's toys for some time now.
The real answer to your question is municipalities. They don't want companies mounting stuff in their tunnels.
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I used to work for a GPS receiver company and we were discusing this circa 2000, before Waze, before Google Maps, before Android. Once phones started having gyros Go
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Since most users touch, bump, and fiddle with their phones constantly (despite hands free laws) and the vehicle itself and anything in it is constantly vibrating, inertial measurements will never be accurate.
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My understanding is inertial navigation on phones works pretty well on phones in tunnels. Over longer time/distance drift becomes and issue, but for tunnels this is less of an issue and most navigation software will snap to the closest road. Anyone caught holding a phone while driving in tunnel should have both their license and car taken off them.
GPS retransmitters (Score:3)
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Google maps uses cell towers to get positioning along with GPS. So even without GPS it can position with cell tower signals with lower accuracy. That is how it works inside concrete homes, inside trains, where GPS does not enter (unless we are next to a window).
You are in a maze of twisty little passages (Score:2)