There was a time when getting from A to B relied on maps or directions from complete strangers. Then came the dedicated GPS navigation device which revolutionized the way we travelled and provided our cars with that added bit of style. Now Mobilizy, the leaders in augmented reality geo-location applications for mobile have taken the next major leap by combining augmented reality with GPS navigation software.

Wikitude Drive is the award winning GPS navigation application for Android devices, it has already been awarded numerous prizes including the “Galileo Master 2010” of the European Satellite Navigation Competition, “Global Champion” of the NAVTEQ LBS Challenge and Winner of the “World Summit Award 2010”. Previously available for Austria, Germany and Switzerland the application is now available for Spain, UK, France and Italy.

What’s different about Wikitude Drive from other navigation applications is it overlays the live route over the camera feed rather than using a traditional map view.  This new augmented reality view enables you to see exactly where you are going and the route without having to take your eyes off the road ahead. Having said sometime back that someday AR will change navigation, it’s been enjoyable playing around with the beta and testing the UK maps. As everything is stored on the server all the maps are up to date and I was even able to navigate to my house which hasn’t even made Google Street View yet. Turn by turn instructions are given clearly using a speech engine so you’ll always have the expected voice instructions.  In terms of testing there really wasn’t a lot fault about the application, it does exactly what it’s designed to do and does it really well. Take a look at the video below to see Wikitude Drive in action.

Wikitude Drive

Given the expense of dedicated GPS navigation units, if you have an Android phone Wikitude Drive is very reasonably priced at £9.99/€9.99. You’ll find it in the Android Market. Take look at the official site to see if your device is supported. www.wikitude.com/drive

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