GPS Navigation for Linux

Hi,

I've found a comercial navigation software for Linux, see here. Could we use this software on the empeg? I've read something about that you could use the navigation functions in your own programs.

cheers,
Thorsten

Well two obstacles are immediately apparent:

1) While they have a version of "InfoMap" for Linux it is no doubt intended for Intel based machines, so at the very least you would need to get them to do an ARM build of it
2) "InfoMap" appears to be a rich GUI application, so not really suited to use on an empeg (it could be that they also supply a cut-down command line version, but there aren't many details on their site)

Maybe they would be so nice to do a "custom build" for us. Since my english isn't very good, someone whose native language is english (hi andy ;-))) could write an e-mail and ask them kindly if they could offer a special empeg version for us. I remeber there were a lot of people willing to pay up to 200€ for a gps software on the empeg.

I'm afraid I have little interest in nav software for the empeg, someone else will have to ask them.

Getting a program to run on the empeg is more than just doing a special ARM-targeted build. The player has a completely custom set of I/O hardware, big limitations on memory and storage, and an extremely quirky screen. So you can't simply ask them to do a special build for you.

The only way you're going to see that particular software running on the empeg is if it is open-source, and then somebody with many weeks of time on their hands sits down and figures out how to port it to the empeg.

Well, if it were a text-stream program, it could be interfaced. That is, if it could tell another program what to draw on the empeg's screen, separating the navigation and display into two separate programs, it could. I'm not saying that's likely to happen, but it would be a way that a closed-source program could be utilized.

The biggest problem for navigation on the Empeg is that it has a small screen and no keyboard. Their is really only one navigation program in the world that can deal with these limitations: GPSApp (and/or GPSApp+Roadmap). Even navigation programs made for a Palm III have the luxury of more screen space and a touch-screen interface. The only navigation programs for the Empeg are the ones that can be custom made.

I don't think that the screen size matters. I've seen navigation solutions with much smaller screens at lower resolutions. You only need an arrow to guide you and a distance to the next intersection, maybe a voice saying "turn left NOW" or something. I also don't see a problem in entering the destination address. I mean we have a rotary encoder and a remote control....

cheers
Thorsten

There's no harm in asking...
Here's a preview of the mail I'm about to send them.
Comments please...


Dear Sir or Madam,

I've read that InfoMap Navigator also runs under Linux.
Since my car-radio, a harddisk mp3 player named riocar, also runs under Linux,
it might be possible to use your software.

Let me give you a brief introduction to the MP3 player:
The CPU is a 220MHz StrongARM S-1100-DA, it has 16MB Ram and a 30GB harddisk.
The display is a 128 x 32 x 2Bit dot matrix VFD. The operating system is Linux, and everything
(e.g. the kernel) besides the software for mp3 playback is open source. Detailed information can be found here:
http://www.riocar.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=FAQ&file=index&myfaq=yes&id_cat=2&categories=Basic+questions+about+the+car+player+and+the+company

The riocar community made some attempts to develop a navigation software for the player,
but the attempts always failed due to the lack of map data in an open format.
Talking to gps receivers via serial cable to get the actual postion, graphical output on the
display, audio overlay for voice commands - everything has already been programmed and
is open source.

There are a lot of people willing to pay up to 200 € for a navigation software on the riocar,
which would make the player absolutely perfect.

Since you already offer a navigation software for Linux, it would probably be no problem
for you to do a build for the StrongArm processor with some modification on the software
so that it fits the hardware limitations (16MB Ram, small display) of the riocar.
Maybe the software could run as a command line program, so it would run in the
background.

Many thanks in advance

Regards
Thorsten Führer

The problem is that they seem to be using QT for their graphics API. The empeg effectively has no graphics API. Importantly, it doesn't use QT, at any rate. Getting them to port it is way more effort than just recompiling. If they have a text-only version, we might be able to use it just recompiled.

Do you think I should send the e-mail in this form? Maybe it would be better to phone them and talk directly to a programmer. If someone living in the UK could do that for me it would be great!

Well, you can appeal to them. There's no harm. I just don't think it'll do any good. You could add that a version that produced text output, stripping the graphics altogether could conceivably be helpful.

In reply to:

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I've seen navigation solutions with much smaller screens at lower resolutions. You only need an arrow to guide you and a distance to the next intersection, maybe a voice saying "turn left NOW" or something. I also don't see a problem in entering the destination address. I mean we have a rotary encoder and a remote control....

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Uhh GPSApp already does this... and I thought some people have gotten it to work with European maps... the solution is already within your grasp so to speak. As far as entering the destination address with the rotary encoder... well it doesn't sound like much fun to me but I suppose it's possible.

Have I missed something? We've got real route calculation on the empeg? No need to calculate the route on the pc and transfer it to the empeg? Which maps are being used?

In reply to:

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Have I missed something? We've got real route calculation on the empeg? No need to calculate the route on the pc and transfer it to the empeg? Which maps are being used?

---

There is no real-time route calculation yet if that's what your after. But GPSApp does quite well with precalculated routes. It gets it's map data from web sites- and I believe someone got a European mapping web site to work though I can't find the thread. I know precalculated routes are not as "impressive" as real-time ones but they do work in most cases. If you live in the U.S. you can use GPSapp+Roadmap and Roadmap may have real-time route calculation soon.. but unfortunately European governments are greedy and apparently don't give away map data to the general public like the U.S. does with TIGER data. I mean you can't tell me European governments -which are much more centralized than the U.S. - don't have road map information somewhere...

Of course I want real-time route calculation. That's what counts

I don't believe you can do route calculation based on tiger maps. The accuracy is just too bad.

No, european governments don't offer map data for free.
Edit: At least germany does not offer road data.

I don't think that there "are a lot of people willing to pay 200E". That's $254!

Now if we could get the a reasonable dataset for under $100, you might have a few takers.

I did the GreenFlag.com conversion utility that's discussed here. Not sure if it still works, as I'm in the US, and don't even have GPSApp running anymore.. ;P

The problem with this source of information, is that it only gives information about where the turns are, and not the in-between coordinates for displaying the road accurately. This works simply as a way of assiciating turn directions with GPS coordinates, but isn't up to the same level of detail that mapsonus.com provides.

Ok, it was 250$ including the hardware, see this thread. And it were only a few people, but...

Here is the reply I got from directions ltd.:

This is an embedded Linux, which currently not supported, but possibly at a later stage.

I've got the feeling that they haven't read my e-mail until the end...