Re: GPS maps for pedestrian?
From: Peter (prathman_at_comcast.net)
Date: 02/07/05
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Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2005 09:25:25 -0800
newspost@hotmail.com wrote:
> Peter wrote:
>
>>newspost@hotmail.com wrote:
>>Seems like a great over-generalization. Some GPS receivers are for
>
> use
>
>>while driving, but others are for hikers, fishermen, hunters,
>
> cyclists,
>
>>geocachers, surveyors, farmers, trucking companies, search&rescue,
>>boaters, people tracking: goods, pets, children, wild animals, etc.,
>>telephony network synchronization, geologists studying earth
>
> movements,
>
>>cellular phone emergency location tracking & enhanced services, and
>>numerous other applications. Some of these need audible signals but
>>many do not. And even those that do frequently just use an audible
>>beep to alert the user to look at the screen for more detailed
>>information.
>
>
> Oh, ok. I'm impressed. You open a new world for me. :-) I was just
> aware of GPS for cars for routing purposes.
>
>
>>The eMap and GPS V are two handheld Garmin units, but there are
>
> plenty
>
>>of similar handhelds from various manufacturers (see www.garmin.com,
>>www.magellangps.com, www.lowrance.com for starters). Like most
>>handhelds, these two only give beeps to alert you and you then need
>
> to
>
>>look at the screen for further information.
>
>
> Ok, now I understand.
>
>
>>Again, I don't really see much point in software that provides me
>
> with
>
>>specific route information when walking. I'd just as soon decide for
>>myself if today I'd like to take the scenic path through the park or
>>go past the shops on the main business street. I use the GPS to show
>>me my current location, the destination location, and a map
>>with roads, parks, rivers, etc. so I can choose how to get between
>
> the
>
>>two. The GPS V and many other devices will give me a specific route
>>if I request it, but the value of that eludes me for anyone who can
>>read a map. The situation is quite different while driving since
>>the driver isn't able to safely study a map whenever a turn decision
>>needs to be made.
>
>
> Well, I do not need the GPS for usual paths, of course. I need them
> when I do not know the route. I also mean having a audible PDA GPS, not
> any other types.
>
> Given these premises, I can picture you a couple of situations where I
> miss a route-PDA-GPS:
>
> I often travel for my job. I take the flight and a taxi to arrive to my
> hotel in city x, country y.
>>>From then, I want to visit customers, restaurants, shopping centers and
> maybe museums and so on. I can also take a taxi for each trip I need to
> do, but if i also want to figure out how the city looks like I can also
> decide to walk (if the hotel is not 10 Km distant).
That sounds exactly like some of my use of my eMap GPS. But since most
cities have lots of essentially equivalent ways to get from one spot
to a given destination I see no need for the device to tell me exactly
which streets to walk down. If I enter an address or the name of a
museum, business, or other "Point Of Interest" it draws a line on the
map screen between my current position and the destination. It also
puts an arrow at the top of the screen indicating the direction 'as
the crow flies' and gives the distance. I take a quick glance at
the map to see if there are any obvious obstacles, such as rivers, or
intermediate spots I'd like to go by, like extended city parks. Then
I just start walking with an occasional glance at the arrow to keep
heading in the right general direction. Frequently in downtown areas
a significant factor in walking time is how long one waits for traffic
lights, so I tend to make some turn decisions just based on whether the
light is green or red when I arrive at the corner. That's something
no routing algorithm can predict.
Another factor that routing systems don't consider is elevation changes.
When I use the routing capability of the GPS V and specify a bicycle or
walking route through a local town it tends to direct me to a street
called "Seven Hills Rd." That street is a pretty direct route across
town, but it's not the fastest way either on foot or when cycling since
its name is an accurate description. Better to know the general
direction to the destination and take a glance at the hills to see how
to get there without unnecessary climbing.
> Situation 2: I need to go to public office z in my own city. I take the
> train to the city center as normal, then I need to reach street w I
> never heard about. Again here, I would prefer having something that
> tells me where to directly go instead of having a city map downloaded
> from the Internet that I need to study in the street.
My GPS has maps with all streets within about a 100 mile radius of my
home already loaded from CD ROMs that came with it. If I plan to travel
outside that area I reload the memory with the appropriate maps for the
particular trip. That also means that it can locate street addresses and
many business locations such as restaurants, hotels/motels, gas stations
(useful even for cyclists and pedestrians as places with restrooms and
water), stores, etc.
- Next message: Peter: "Re: Auto-Routing on Legend C"
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- In reply to: newspost_at_hotmail.com: "Re: GPS maps for pedestrian?"
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