GPS navigation app failed to perform inside a tunnel
As I was trying to return my rental car yesterday in Sydney, I spent 30 minutes, 20$ in toll fee, driving around the shop and couldn’t get my path correct. I was using Google Maps app on my iPhone. I missed my exit inside the tunnel for the first mistake, and I took a right turn earlier than I was supposed to, and it led me onto M5 highway to suburbs.
Tunnels are headaches for phone based navigation apps, cell phone signal is weak inside the tunnel, GPS signal is simply null. But I started wondering are there improvement that we can make? Here are some top-of-mind ideas.
- at least highlight the next step after entering the tunnel. (especially when there’s diversion of traffic inside the tunnel) As per my experience yesterday, I was on the right lane when I saw the exit I was supposed to take. But I was 80KM/h and wasn’t able to merge to the exit lane. This should be the most feasible improvement, since the app is aware of satellite signal strength and the last known location of the car. When it detects the car enters the tunnel, next step (which involves exit or change lanes) could be highlighted on the UI.
- predict the whereabout of the car based on the current traffic condition and the speed of the car when it enters the tunnel. Using this, the app should be able to inaccurately predict car’s location inside the tunnel and simulate the navigation for the user. But as I was typing the sentence, I realized this feature could even be more dangerous for the driver. Given the prediction is inaccurate and displays the wrong location and suggested action.
Actually, the biggest reason for me to get lost was it was the first time for me to drive abroad and on the LEFT.
