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Hi, I know that the title may not be the best description of what I'm trying to accomplish but hear me out. Me and few friends decided that we are going to have a competition in building the best autonomous racing robot. Our goal is to build a large obstacle course, set a general route through it and let our robots make the most efficient and fastest path while avoiding obstacles. All of this is supposed to happend outdoors in area which size equates to around 100 m2. We are not complete noobies in making autonomous stuff and all have experience in machine learning, small electronics , motors etc. But one thing we disagree about is the requirements for our outside navigation systems. We are having trouble choosing between normal cameras,stereo cams, lidar, gps, ultrasonic sensors, all of those?? Even tho our project is complicated we are still trying to keep our costs down. So I'm looking for an advice from someone with more experience. What combinations or a singular part should we choose as our navigation+obstacle detection system for our project? I'm really looking forward to your answers. Thank you.

In a kind of interesting twist to navigation technology, LORAN (longe-range navigation) stations may actually come back online over the next couple of years to serve as back-up to GPS. The main reason is that GPS signals (which supplanted LORAN completely in 2010 in the US and Canada) are susceptible to interference and jamming due to their low signal strength, where as LORAN operating at higher strength would be a lot harder to jam without a massive installation. In the US, a recent funding bill for the Dept. of Homeland Security for 2018 that passed the House of Representatives called for the construction of enhanced LORAN stations to complement and backup the existing GPS system and South Korea is planning to have three active eLORAN stations online by 2019. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/08/radio-navigation-set-to-make-global-return-as-gps-backup-because-cyber/ While the cost to build and maintain these stations may be expensive, this is a great idea as there are a lot of issues with relying solely on space based signals for navigation. If anything, this can help to improve accuracy of navigation systems. Also helps to point out that just because a tech or tech concept is old, doesn't necessarily mean that it is still without a use... Reuters Article: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-shipping-gps-cyber-idUSKBN1AN0HT?mod=djemCIO_h

In news coming out of the ION GNSS+ conference in Portland, OR today, Broadcom has announced that they will be launching their new BCM 47755 GPS chip and it should be in some smartphones in 2018. What makes this interesting (at least to me) is that this new chip uses both the L1 and L5 signal from GNSS satellites to refine it's accuracy from the current 5-meter accuracy down to 30-cm accuracy. While still not good enough to measure the motion of tectonic plates, this level of accuracy should improve your road navigation abilities quite drastically as your phone will be able to tell more accurately whether you are on a main road or an access road. In addition to all of this, they are also proposing a 50% power savings from these chips over the previous receivers, which should definitely help to improve battery life. https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/semiconductors/design/superaccurate-gps-chips-coming-to-smartphones-in-2018 I'm personally looking forward to this as it should help to develop some better mapping applications that can be phone based as opposed to having a separate high accuracy receiver. Hot Hardware Article: https://hothardware.com/news/broadcom-avago-gps-chip-technology-breakthrough-to-deliver-inch-level-accuracy-for-smartphones

Hey guys, I want to put a icon.png on the navigation as a logo but somehow it is below the nav and not shown. Can anyone tell me how to solve this? https://codepen.io/andy4117/pen/KKpXEwJ Thank you in advance!

Hi! I came up with an idea for an app recently and like to be able to make it myself. I've got very little experience in programming (in 9th grade I took a class in C++ and made a blackjack game, but i dont remember much from that), but I'd like to learn! A friend of mine who is very good at programming, recommended that I start with a course on C# on Udemy (by a guy named Mosh something-or-another) and then move on to another course that would teach me something that works with C# and can make apps that work on all platforms (ios, google, whatever else there is idk). I don't remember what it was called, I'm pretty sure it started with Xan- though. Does anyone have any recomendations? Should I start there? Somewhere else? I'm lost here and I need some help, thanks in advance to anyone who helps me! PS: It'll be a navigation app if that helps.

Hi. My work mate, a professional driver, has a dilemma. Is there more value in a smartphone with a navigation app or with a dedicated device like TomTom or Garmin. It seemed to me that the smartphone has better screen and it has more purpose. Or is there better signal perception with the dedicated device or what are the advantages or disadvantages. Any experience? Advice? I personally love my G4 as a gps hooked to my plug all day. Got everywhere I needed to be. Thanks

So Just wondering what mapping system you guys use most

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Just a small reminder that HERE is owned by Nokia not M$. This is the part of Nokia that was NOT bought by Microsoft. Nokia HERE Maps offers some features that even Google Maps doesn’t, which means the free software should be at least worth considering if you’re a frequent traveler. Take for example its ability to store offline maps. Unlike Google Maps, which simply caches some data, Nokia HERE gives you the ability to save entire regions, like a state, for offline turn-by-turn directions. You can even search for points-of-interest when you don’t have a connection, which means you’ll still be able to look up the location of a new restaurant while you’re riding the subway. There are also other features, like 3D renders of famous buildings, cloud storage for saved favorites – provided you’ve created an account – and more. Features list: Offline navigation: Interactive maps and turn-by-turn voice guidance are still available even without an internet connection. Maps to download and to use offline for nearly 100 countries. Public transport maps and directions for over 800 cities in over 40 countries, also when you’re offline. Live traffic info for more than 40 countries. Plan your journey on beta.here.com, then find your way there using your mobile. Personalise your map by creating Collections of your favourite places. Share your location with family and friends in real time as you go via Glympse. It’s private, secure and safe. source : http://360.here.com/2014/10/21/here-for-all-android/

Hey, so here is my story. I recently purchased a cool new summer truck. It is a great vehicle, minus the sound system. The deck/head unit feels like it is from 20 years ago, and it sounds like crap all around. So why no put in some new speakers, a sub, and a new head unit? Well I fell in love with the touch screen,Bluetooth,phone thing head unit in the car i had rented. Upon some research, the hardware alone to do a touch screen deck with things like hands free calls and gps would cost me 800-1000$ from the local car audio store (Canadian BTW.) At first I was thinking my phone can already do all of that, but then I found windows 7/8 2dins. It could theoretically get internet access through my phone(3gnetwork) or wifi. I could get things like Google, Google Maps, Youtube, and a endless source of bad ideas to look at while driving. Here is what I found. Yes, I know, It is not supposed to be used while driving. Well maybe the passenger. "no officer, I am not playing Minecraft while driving." "Do you know how ridiculous you sound right now?" http://e3io.com/mini-itx-double-din-car-pc The base model is 1000$ USD. It includes no OS, no shipping outside the US. and only a 1 year warranty. Then the adult side of me comes out, "Hey I spent that much on my gaming PC." And I found this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERI3rrz4UY4 I would consider my self a novice when it comes to PC builds, but i have worked on vehicles my whole life. So yeah I think I want to build one my self (kinda like in the first link.) I am left with all kinds of questions, from hardware, to software, to an inverter (if it even needs one.) Maybe I should go with the pre-made one, or just a regular vehicle 2din. I am going to do a lot more research on how to build it, how to include local radio / hands free calls, windows vs. Linux ect. ect. Maybe a Pokemon emulator. Maybe have it control a Parrot AR Drone that docks in the bed of the truck? I would appreciate all help, advice and to be talked out of doing this. Thanks,