Yandex maps additional reality. Yandex
(also known as Wi2Geo) has launched its augmented reality app AlterGeo for iPhone (iTunes link). It allows users to get location information about friends and places by looking through their phone's camera.
A completely new type of map has become available to iPhone users, which allows them to explore the space of a metropolis easier, faster and more technologically advanced. Looking through the camera on their mobile device, they can now see pop-up information messages about places and friends superimposed on a real image of their surroundings: for example, there is a cafe 500 meters in this direction, an ATM 710 meters away, and a tire shop 843 meters away. The same pop-up messages in the appropriate direction will tell you which of your friends registered in AlterGeo is nearby and at what exact distance. The application for the iPhone 3G S uses the compass built into the mobile device; for other iPhone models, there is a manual compass line that the user scrolls through.
With the new application, the surrounding reality is supplemented with information from the AlterGeo database, a social service that allows you to determine the location of users and show on the map nearby places of interest: cafes, restaurants, cinemas, shops, car washes, car repair shops and many others.
“AlterGeo users will be able to meet and communicate with those with whom they go to the same establishments,” says Wi2Geo co-founder Denis Alaev. - For this purpose, it is possible to “check in” at a specific place. You can inform only your friends that you are in this particular club, or you can tell all users without restrictions. This also allows you to find out the opinions of other users about a particular establishment and get a real, “live” recommendation. For example, I see that a person constantly goes to a restaurant where I am now for the first time, I can write him a message and find out what the chef does best.”
The AlterGeo application became the first augmented reality application in Russia. Augmented reality is the Russian translation of the generally accepted name for a new trend in the world of high technology - augmented reality (abbreviated as AR), when reality is supplemented with information from the Internet or other databases. One of the most famous examples of augmented reality is the graphical representation of the trajectories of a ball or puck during the broadcast of various sports games.
Thanks to alternative geography from AlterGeo, it has become surprisingly easy to explore new areas of the metropolis, look for the right places nearby, find out which friends are nearby, and communicate - just look at the world around you through the camera of your iPhone.
More details about the application can be found on the website
Living in a more or less large populated area, it is very difficult to do without navigation tools. What can we say if you live in a metropolis. That's why you should definitely have one of the navigation apps for your iPhone on hand.
One of the first navigators for smartphones to implement offline maps, so you don’t have to go to the Internet to find point B. But 2GIS is not just mobile maps, it is also an extremely informative reference book, comparable to the Yellow Pages. Find a nearby place to eat? No problem. Moreover, if you want to book a table, in 2GIS you will find out not only the address, but also the opening hours, as well as contact information.
The peculiarity of the application is that the first time you launch it, you will in any case need to download offline maps for your city, that is, 2GIS simply does not work online. When building a route, 2GIS takes into account how you will get there: on foot, by public transport, taxi or personal car. For each case, one or more shortest possible routes will be selected.
Yandex maps
And if 2GIS allowed you to work with offline maps from the very beginning, then in Yandex.Maps this opportunity appeared quite recently. But this does not make the application worse, since thanks to the ability to work online we receive a lot of useful information. For example, if you travel by land, it is important to know the current condition of the roads. The application will show the level of traffic congestion on your route and, if necessary, select a route to avoid traffic jams.
As in the case of 2GIS, the route is formed based on how you plan to get there. Moreover, if you want to take a taxi, you can immediately see the cost of the trip from the application, and also call Yandex.Taxi literally in one click. And when getting to your destination for the first time, you will certainly be pleased with the opportunity to virtually walk through the city streets using the function "Augmented Reality".
Yandex.Navigator
If Yandex.Maps is a universal application for creating any type of routes, searching for organizations, viewing their operating hours and contact information, then Yandex.Navigator is an indispensable assistant for motorists. It’s not difficult to arrive at your destination using the most optimal route - all you have to do is follow the tips on the navigator maps. And so that you don’t miss the right turn, the auto-informer will tell you in advance where you should go.
The capabilities of Yandex.Navigator can be listed for a very long time, here are just the main ones: speed control (you can set your own parameters), notification of speed cameras, display of traffic jam levels, offline work, "Talkers", where drivers can share information about road conditions in specific areas. A nice bonus will be different voices for the informant; for example, recently users have the opportunity to hear tips from Darth Vader, Optimus Prime, Master Yoda and many other famous characters. If you have a car, then this navigator must be installed.
Navitel Navigator
Next up is another car navigator for iPhone. If you are an experienced motorist, then you have probably heard about such a well-known company as Navitel, whose maps were once installed on almost every navigator. If we talk about the application for the iPhone, here the developers pay attention to the interface at the last moment, which cannot be said about the functionality.
For example, the most significant advantage of Navitel is its coverage area: if you are an avid traveler, you will be pleased with the fact that it works great throughout Europe, Asia and America, and the navigator operates offline (but you should take into account the impressive weight many cards). Among other features, it is worth highlighting a convenient search for important organizations, displaying the level of traffic jams, providing a detailed weather forecast, speed control, as well as searching for and adding friends.
Google Maps
One of Google's most significant services is Maps. If previously the Google application was much inferior to the Yandex solution (largely due to the low detail of the maps even in large cities), now they are approximately equal, but Google has several notable options that its competitor does not have.
For example, when you use Google Maps for a long time, you will probably be interested in viewing the places you have visited. If you need your loved ones to know where you are at the moment, activate the geodata transfer function. No internet access? No problem! Just download offline maps first and use them at any time, wherever you are.
MAPS.ME
An indispensable app for travelers. When you decide to visit a new country, do not forget to download the region you need in order to use MAPS.ME without access to the Internet.
The main features of MAPS.ME include selection of entertainment in the selected region, formation of routes (unlike other mapping applications for iPhone, there is the ability to create bicycle routes), convenient search for establishments by category, instant saving of placemarks, sending the current location to friends and much more. other.
Each of the presented iPhone applications has detailed and constantly updated maps, but at the same time, they are very different, having their own unique capabilities. We hope that with our help you were able to find the ideal offline cards for yourself.
Yandex, a company that recently turned two decades old, continues to delight its users with new products that meet the latest in augmented reality technologies.
The lucky owners of devices with iOS 11, literally just before its release, got the opportunity to use Yandex.Maps in a new format. The newly created function is available to those who have bothered to download the router itself, namely version 9.6, to their Apple equipment. Compatibility is observed with gadgets equipped with an A9 processor: several models of iPhones (starting from 6S\SE) and iPads.
How to enable AR mode in Yandex.Maps
Once AR is activated, you will see the route through your smartphone's camera. Virtual markers will be superimposed on the cityscape and you will not get lost - even at night. The usual map format is easy to return to the device screen if necessary, since it is present in the form of a miniature at the bottom of the display.
For now, the AR navigator can produce erroneous “pointers”, so the familiar format is still an important thing - we can only hope that over time all the shortcomings will be corrected by the developers.
Overall, the new feature is more than useful; it has every chance to gradually become even better and gain popularity among a wide audience.
The developers of this application really deserve attention. The guys don’t just use a newfangled feature, but realize its potential to 100%.
The training program will clearly show and explain how the transmission works, the battery releases its charge, the laser shines, what lobes the brain consists of, and much more.
Firstly, it is a visual, detailed interactive. Everything can be rotated, scaled, parts touched and given hints.
Secondly, there is a step-by-step tutorial, like a teacher with a book telling about certain things.
Thirdly, this is not a one-time program, but an entire platform into which new units sorted by category will be loaded. The application is free, but to my great regret it is in English.
On the other hand, it’s a good reason to improve your English. JIG Space is perhaps the most useful, impressive and inspiring app available in the AR category. This is the future in the education system. And many complex things become a little easier.
TapMeasure
Thanks to TapMeasure, you can measure the length of objects, determine the deviation of shapes from a given plane, and even create a three-dimensional floor plan taking into account windows, doors and other surfaces.
The result is an interactive model in which you can see all sizes. A very convenient thing, especially when you need to sketch or measure something, but don’t have a tape measure or laser at hand. Of course, the accuracy leaves much to be desired.
It is worth considering that the error per meter can be a centimeter or more. But in the absence of any other more accurate tool, such a solution is still a way out.
IKEA Place
The guys from IKEA quickly picked up and adopted ARKit, making a cool addition to their catalog. Now you can fit many things from the Swedish furniture factory into your room and see how good or bad it will look.
The models are high poly and look pretty cool. There are two main complaints - there is no way to scale objects, the application simply does not always accurately match the size, and the absence of the program in the Russian App Store. For the rest, keep it up. Add more things from the catalog, attach all the characteristics to them and you will be happy and have a lot of convenience.
SketchAR
If you don't know how to draw, then all is not lost. And for this, at the initial stage, it is not necessary to go to a club at a cultural center. The Sketch AR app will help you with this. Preferably by pointing the camera at an A4 piece of paper, the scanner will recognize it and show four dots that need to be drawn.
They will become reference values for the system, after which the image selected from the catalog will be projected. Of course, you can hold it with one hand and draw the picture with the other, but it’s better to mount your smartphone or tablet on a tripod.
With SketchAR you can easily get a good and most importantly proportional skeleton of the image. Then all you have to do is finish the job without help.
Magicplan
The main focus of this application is on drawing up drawing plans of premises and augmented reality technology helps a lot with this. There is no need to draw every line - we quickly ran around the room, noting the corners, and we get a ready-made plan.
Where necessary, they corrected it, where necessary, they completed the drawing. Then, we added doors, windows and furniture from a structured catalog and in just 5 minutes you have an excellent sketch ready that you are not ashamed to show.
During repairs, this application will become simply irreplaceable. The cool thing is that then all the resulting premises can be combined into one project and you will get an apartment or a house.
Housecraft
One of the first test examples of augmented reality was a program from Apple that allows you to arrange a couple of pieces of furniture. Did the Housecraft developers take this idea further and add a ton of interactivity and houseware elements?
Objects can be placed with high precision, rotated, scaled, and even placed virtual models on top of each other. So furnishing a room with interior elements, even virtual objects, will not be difficult.
Night Sky
The far from new Night Sky application, after a recent update, received two augmented reality modes - classic, with a starry sky overlay, and with a display of the solar system. True, the latest feature is only available by subscription. It's good that at least the first month is free. So we had some fun, studied the sky and our system and that was enough.
Yandex maps
The guys from Yandex decided to become pioneers in a world where cartography and augmented reality coexist. In pedestrian mode, when building a route on the ground, a point and the path to it will be displayed.
So far, all this has been implemented very simply and has practically no benefit, but it is a clear example of the fact that you can work in this direction and it will look organic.
All that remains is to finalize the linking of the route, add interactive signs to the buildings and make smart augmented reality glasses, and the technological future will definitely be one step closer.
App in the Air
This application will prompt and show routes and flight status online for certain flights. If you discard a bunch of basic functions and focus on augmented reality, then based on your flight history for the entire time or for a specific year, the program will show on a three-dimensional ball all your flights and your accumulated mileage. This is of little use, but of course you can take a beautiful photo on Instagram.
But if the developers integrated flight flights into augmented reality online, it would be much cooler.
Paint Space AR
And the AR drawing app closes our rating. There is nothing special here - you choose colors, tools or some effects and just play around, painting the virtual environment. Why this might be needed in practice - I don’t know.
Also, the developers provided only a limited number of tools, colors and features. Please pay for the rest.
Unfortunately, there are negligibly few applications implemented using augmented reality in the App Store, and even fewer smart ones. Such programs will begin to appear on Google Play a little later, because Google has delayed the release of a package for developers.
We received support for navigation mode with augmented reality based on ARKit for all Apple smartphones, starting from iPhone SE and newer.
How does it work and how useful can such a feature be called?
How to turn it on
To enable augmented reality navigation mode, you must first plot a walking route from one point to another, launch it, and then click on big blue button.
She will immediately put the phone into mode AR, will launch the camera and plot a route.
How does it work
The route is laid out in the form of virtual points directly on your path, while the usual map is displayed in miniature. It can be increased if suddenly AR navigation started to fail and show incorrect coordinates.
This, unfortunately, still happens. I was crossing a bridge and the end point of the route in augmented reality mode suddenly became the opposite of what I needed. In other conditions there were no problems even late in the evening.
And this is a really cool thing! It’s not always possible in the evening to find your way around using a regular map and the terrain, but here everything is shown right before your eyes through a smartphone camera. Get lost unreal.
What's the result?
A cool and useful feature that will definitely get better over time. This kind of navigation is the future. Worth praise Yandex for implementing the latest features so quickly.
By the way, tomorrow the company turns 20 years old and you can read about it on
