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Touchscreen Compatible Interface
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Overland Navigator is designed to take full advantage of the touchscreen and pen based input devices available in todays laptop, tablet, and convertible computers. It uses large buttons that are easy to select with a finger, even if you have gloves on. All tasks were designed to be completed using only "left clicks" making it easy to use with nothing more than a finger or pen. Still other tasks, such as importing GPS tracks, require no user interaction at all because they have been entirely automated.
Overland Navigator is easy to use in the field. The Maps are included and installed on the hard drive so an Internet connection isn't required. It has large high-contrast buttons to insure that they are visible in sunlight and easy to select even with a gloved finger. The menus automatically hide to provide the maximum amount of screen real-estate to the map itself. It is compatible with touchscreen and pen based computers as well as traditional laptop and desktop computers. Many tasks such as centering the map and loading a GPS Track are completely automated and require no human interaction at all. Nearly every feature of Overland Navigator was designed to make field based mapping as easy as possible. The goal of Overland Navigator is to move digital mapping out of the office and into the field.
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Seamless USGS Topographic Maps
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Overland Navigator features basemaps from the USGS Topographic Map Series. These are the best back country maps available that have complete coverage for the entire United States.
We've taken the original maps from the USGS and processed them to make them work well on a typical home computer. Our maps feature:
- 1:24,000, 1:100,000, and 1:250,000 scale high quality scans of USGS Topographic Maps.
- Presented with trimmed collars - The white boundary w/ the legend, etc has been removed
- Seamless presentation - Maps are mosaic'd together with software for a seamless map experience
- Compressed - Using lossless compression we made them 4-500% smaller so they'd fit on your hard drive
- Stored them in the non-proprietary industry standard GeoTIFF format so they will work with other software too.
- Made a simple windows installer to make the entire spatial data experience easy.
- Maps are stored on your hard drive instead of on CD/DVD. This makes them fast to access and removes a dependency on failure prone CD/DVD drives.
Overland Navigator automatically picks the ideal map based on your location and zoom level. With no user input whatsoever the correct map is automatically displayed for the current location. As the map is zoomed in, it automatically selects maps with more and more detail. Starting with 1:250k USGS topographic maps, then selecting 1:100k maps, and finally selecting from the 1:24k USGS topographic map series. Similarly, the appropriate map is automatically selected when zooming out.
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Current Location
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The current GPS position is shown as a bright red semi-sphere making it easy to identify on the map.
*Requires a GPS Receiver that supports the NMEA0183 protocol. Note that this is the most common GPS protocol and is available on nearly every GPS receiver.
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Automatic Panning |
Map moves automatically to stay centered on top of the GPS location. When you press the "GPS" button, the map will automatically reposition itself when your location gets close to the edge of the map.
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Manual Panning |
Using a mouse, pen, or touchscreen interface click and drag the map to center it where you want. A feature that is unique to Overland Navigator is that the current GPS position continues to be shown on the map. This allows you to see both your current GPS position and explore your surroundings via the map.
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Zoom In / Zoom out |
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Zoom In is accomplished by pressing the "+" button. This displays an animation of the current map "flying in" as the map is zoomed. The zoomed map is then replaced by a new map loaded from disk.
Zoom Out is performed the same as Zooming In but in reverse.
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Show GPS Tracks |
GPS tracks and waypoints can be shown on the map. With support for the industry standard GPS Exchange (*.gpx) file format you can display GPS tracks and waypoints available from internet websites, friends, colleagues, guide books, family, or even a track you recorded yourself. GPS tracks and waypoints are a great way to supplement traditional topographic maps with itinerary specific details, points of interest, or see routes/places you've visted before.
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Automatic GPX Track Display |
Insert a USB memory device, CD ROM, DVD, or other removable media and any GPS Exchange files on it will automatically be displayed on the map.
This seemingly simple feature eliminates 4 or more mouse clicks from the typical File->Open->Browse for file->Press "Open" sequence that is common in most desktop mapping products.
This makes it incredibly easy to view GPX tracks that your colleagues, friends, and family may have shared with you. Just insert the media a voila the track appears on the screen. Eject the device and it dissapears.
Once detected, the new device will be monitored for any GPX files that are added or removed for as long as it remains connected. If you were to download a GPX file from your favorite website or save a GPX file you received as an e-mail attachment to this directory it will be shown without having to eject and re-insert the device.
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Track Recording
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Record *your* GPS track as you move about. Simply press the record button to start storing a "breadcrumb trail" to a GPS Exchange (*.gpx) file. This file is in an industry standard format that can be used to share your track with GPS users, or loaded with other desktop mapping programs. The file is automatically named using the current date, so you never have to type or enter anything in while in the field.
While recording, the red "pause" button will be shown and highlighted (blue glow) so you know that you are actively recording. When you are ready to stop recording, simply press the pause button.
Your daily track is shown in semi-transparent grey, and previous tracklogs will be displayed along with your other GPX files. Here there is a blue GPX track showing a climbing route up Mount Adams, a red semi-sphere indicating the GPS position, and a semi-transparent grey track showing the previously travelled route.
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Waypoint Recording
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You can record waypoints to mark points of interest. Simply press the waypoint button and your current GPS location is added to the daily GPX file (see Record / Pause Track). The waypoint is automatically given a default name and symbol.
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Windows "Aero" Style Interface
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Overland Navigator has a glassy black 3-D interface with blue "glowing" highlights similar to the popular "Aero" style theme included with Windows Vista (Click screenshot for larger image). The graphics are all rendered from vector sources which allows them to scale appropriately from the smallest 5" UMPC device to large 27" Office Projection Systems.
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Windows Vista and XP Compatible
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As of Version 1.1, Overland Navigator is being fully tested for compatibility with Windows Vista and Windows XP.
Whether you are sharing a trip with family around your Windows Media Center, giving a tactical Search and Rescue presentation, or planning your expedition route to the top of Mount Everest with your climbing team there are times when it is nice to be able to control your software with a remote control. If yor computer has a remote control interface, remote control software such as "Girder" you can control most features of Overland Navigator.
Overland Navigator includes a Windows Messaging Application Programming Interface (API). This enables many features of Overland Navigator to be controlled via windows messages.
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Car PC Software Compatible
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Overland Navigator has been tested with the "Road Runner" carputer software.
WARNING: OVERLAND NAVIGATOR IS NOT DESIGNED TO BE OPERATED WHILE OPERATING A VEHICLE. OPERATING OVERLAND NAVIGATOR WHILE OPERATING A VEHICLE MAY BE A VIOLATION OF STATE LAW. DO NOT OPERATE OVERLAND NAVIGATOR WHILE OPERATING A VEHICLE.
OVERLAND NAVIGATOR IS MAP, GPS, AND GPS TRACK VIEWING/EDITING SOFTWARE. IT IS NOT A NAVIGATIONAL AID. ALWAYS CONSULT RECENT AND CURRENT PAPER CHARTS AND MAPS WHEN NAVIGATING. DO NOT NAVIGATE WITH OVERLAND NAVIGATOR.