Dec 17
O’Neill Europe is showing off their new NavJacket, a Gore-Tex jacket with an integrated navigation tool. The NavJacket is the product of a partnership between O’Neill’s Wearable Electronics Department and MyGuide. According to some O’Neill propaganda, the jacket allows you to navigate through the mountains with the help of the integrated display on the sleeve and the audio instructions in the hood (is it that annoying British female voice?). “Simply enter your desired location and let the NavJacket guide you effortlessly down the slopes.” I’m fine with getting routing for something static like streets, but for an environment as dynamic as a ski slope? Also displays your current speed, weather forecasts, and details about your route, such as distance and time. Finally, the jacket has a friend finder function, which allows you to track down buddies on the slopes. The NavJacket will be available as part of the O’Neill Fall/Winter 2008/09 collection.
via NaviGadget
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Aug 24
Cartography has always been a very advanced topic. Generally, a very well educated group of people would sit down and compose a map. Then the rest of us, for years to come, would use it. This model worked great in the historical world, but has frankly become obsolete. For anyone who has ever had a home built, you have likely found that you can’t use google maps, or mapquest for your housewarming party, because the map data is too old. The old model can no longer keep up with the speed of change. We need something faster, some new form of cartography.
To address this problem on hiking trails Backpacker Magazine has been applying a concept where hikers can help create the maps. In February of 2007, Backpacker Magazine announced a project where they would take 300 volunteers, assign them each a section of the Continental Divide Trail as it divides America, and outfit them with maps and GPS. The end goal being to produce an accurate map of the CDT as it is today. This goal is vital, since the current maps are incomplete and out of date.
Since February, they have apparently been hard at work putting teams together, and there has recently been quite a flurry of activity. They have put together a blog allowing the editors on this project to keep the rest of us up to date. This blog has everything from photos to pod casts that have been sent in from remote sections of the trail using satellite phones.
Check out their blog here
Though I haven’t seen any maps produced yet, this new way of mapping is breathtaking to me. The idea of breaking the mold, and creating a world where the travelers record the way is revolutionary. A whole new design for cartography where the users can create the maps, and keep them up-to-date. This technique has been coined Neocartography in some circles, and if all goes well it may one day take over the world.
Map the Planet!
Photo provided by Kim Phillips
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Aug 23
InterMap Technologies recently announced the launch of AccuTerra, which provides existing outdoor GPS units and personal navigation devices (PNDs) with 3D maps and off-road points-of-interest (POI), integrated with interactive 3D rendering software. The product addresses a market that is currently limited to two-dimensional data and provides limited or no map coverage once users leave paved roads, the company says. AccuTerra will render trails and POIs in National Parks in the context of the natural terrain in which they exist. The product’s user interface includes:
- realistic 3D views
- accurate elevation information
- clearly identified and classified trails, paths, and roads (overlaid on the 3D terrain)
- outdoor-specific POI such as campgrounds, service facilities, and trailheads
- routing to points of interest and tracking progress
- a land use display that depicts the location of public and private property, including areas of restricted use
I must be a complete GPS nerd, because this is actually quite exciting. Off-road content substantially lags the mature routing and POI databases in traditional turn-by-turn navigation. It looks like InterMap has only mapped California to date, so it will be interesting to see if the response from PND manufacturers is high enough to justify continued investment in mapping the rest of the United States.
read the press release or data sheet (PDF warning)
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