Offline maps

AntonM · Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 2:47 pm Post subject: Offline maps

Is there any likelihood of CA being used with offline maps? (I did a search for this to see if it had been raised before but couldn't find anything -- sorry if it has!)

A map is certainly not essential in CA, but it's really nice to be able to see the speedcam on a map. Outside the UK, data charges can be prohibitive though (e.g., £7.50/Mb in South Africa!).

I have AlpineQuest, which has a desktop application which create offline maps for use with AQ. It's not a navigator -- just shows you your position overlaid on a map, much as CA does. We use AQ for country walks, with OS maps, and it's brilliant. One can get a variety of other offline maps also, e.g., Google maps. (I'm sure the CA creators know about many other resources for producing offline maps.)

Using offline maps would be useful at home too, for users with limited dataplans -- I suspect most people do most of their travelling fairly close to home, so they might use an offline map which covers, say, 95% of their daily travel needs.

Could this form part of a future version?
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Anton

MaFt · Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 2:53 pm Post subject:

It's certainly something that can be looked into.

As a basic 'workaround' you could simply turn off mobile data on the phone itself and still use "View map: Always". You won't get any map tiles but you could see the location of the cameras compared to where you are on the screen - might help a little?

MaFt

Darren · Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 2:53 pm Post subject: Re: Offline maps

AntonM · Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 2:55 pm Post subject:

Thanks Darren -- was just a thought!

I wonder how AQ (and there are others too) get away with letting you download Google maps, then?
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Anton

Darren · Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 2:58 pm Post subject:

Does AQ use Google Maps? I'm pretty certain that Google don't allow download of their map data so if they are using Google, they've either changed the rules or they're being naughty!
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Darren Griffin

AntonM · Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 3:35 pm Post subject:

Yes, Google Maps is one of the options in AQ, and I've used it to produce maps for use with AQ.

Here's the links to AQ's MOBAC desktop software, if you'd like to look.

alpinequest.psyberia.net/english/help/maps_create
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Anton

Darren · Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 3:47 pm Post subject:

Ah yes, I see now, but that's slightly different (and technically a breach of Google terms).

That allows you to convert map data into their custom format and save it. That's rather different to having a Google map on a device, saved for later use off-line.

As far as Google are concerned (and probably Bing, Yahoo et al as well), downloading and converting the map data in that way is a breach of the licence.

We certainly couldn't cache the Google map data or allow it to be saved on the device for use off-line. The app would never be approved and we'd be skating on very thin ice to even try!

To circumvent it in the the way that AQ have would require a desktop app and as I say, it's legally dodgy.
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Darren Griffin

AntonM · Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 3:55 pm Post subject:

That's understood.

Just another thought -- couldn't CA use AQ's converted maps? I realise it would require co-operation from AQ's author (assuming that you'd want to do it in the first place!), but it would mean that CA/PGPSW are probably out of the legal firing line.

BTW -- I'm not pushing for this -- just following a train of thought!
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Anton

Darren · Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 4:41 pm Post subject:

We wouldn't want to go down that route for many reasons. If we were to consider an alternative then it would be OpenStreetMap which does allow caching on the device.

But there are many technical issues that make any such option complex and as it stands there are no plans in the short term pipeline.

But as you'll have seen, we are constantly looking to improve the app and we're always looking at the options Smile

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Darren Griffin

AntonM · Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:05 pm Post subject:

Understood -- thanks for your patient replies!
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Anton

AliOnHols · Pocket GPS Verifier Joined: Oct 15, 2008 Posts: 1940

AntonM, Have a look at

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Android

There may be something listed on that page that you can do using Open Street Maps and your Android phone.
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lbendlin · Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 9:27 pm Post subject:

main problem with offline maps is the enormous amount of memory this requires - you will have to store all the pictures for all possible zoom levels.

What Google have done with Google Maps 5 is more interesting - they ditched the raster tiles and are now going with true vector data (which scales nicely and requires much, much less memory). Can't see that being available to us lowlifes any time soon though, as it also requires a very robust and performant rendering engine.

What I generally like to do is to explain the need for maps away based on the indisputable fact that CA will most always run in the background anyway.
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Pocketgps · Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:52 pm Post subject:

This thread answers the question I asked yesterday that no one replied to (CamerAlert and Maps).

Darren · Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 10:24 am Post subject:

Pocketgps · Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 2:25 pm Post subject:

No problem Darren Laughing

Just a shame that some sort of map(s) cannot be saved to the phone memory card.

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