What Do You Think Of This Approach Of Sharing Trips?

erebrus

New member
Hi,
First of all, if this is not the appropriate section to post, please let me know. Still, since this is exactly about trip reports, it seemed like the place...
I've been on the forum for a while, but just lurking as I'm still waiting for a change to do a really big trip. My biggest one was 10 000km round trip from Portugal to Norway. It was a big distance, but in two legs of 12 days each.
I've been already working on a way to share my trips and keep my family and friends up-to-date and lately I've been encouraged to check out if others would find it interested in using such a tool.

Basically, I have a android mobile app, that doesn't require internet connection - maps offline - and that allows to track my route over long distances and periods of time, plus add photos and notes on the map. When I get internet connection I can then push these to a website which animates the route we've done, placing pictures and notes on their position in the map and also displaying them on a side panel as a travel blog. The result is this: http://www.roamingonwheels.com

On top of that, the mobile app also also allows you to record expenses, like gas, parking, tolls, and then compute statistics like average speeds and fuel consumption by each trip segment. This part isn't visible in the website yet though, just in the mobile app for now.

Like I said, I did this primarily for myself, but some friends have insisted that maybe other people would find it useful to use something like this. If there would be interest I could make this available to others, but I'd only want to go through that work if this was actually something that others would use it also. As such, I thought that maybe this forum would be a good place to ask. What do you guys think?

I'm looking forward to hear your thoughts.

Thank you!

PS: If you find any bugs don't judge me too harshly hehe
PPS: If you have questions on how to use the website, let me know please, but mostly you just use the back/play/forward controls display the trip
 

erebrus

New member
Its coming up blank for me, just the header showing.

I just checked it again and seems to be all there.

The map is a bit slower than the header to load. This becomes more obvious if the connection is slow, either on your side or if the server was idle (it's free hosting, so if its idle for long the first load can take slightly longer) then the map can take a few seconds.
Could you tell me what browser do you use?

Thanks
 

redneck44

Adventurer
Oooppps my fault. Adblock was hiding it
Off to have a look around.

Excellent, I like it. The Verdon is favourite of mine, having spent some time climbing there.
A great trip.
 
Last edited:

ico135

New member
I think that is a really cool way to document trips. For whomever is following your travels it becomes a much more interactive experience for them. Also looks like a fun way to recap your trip later for yourself or whoever your showing it to.
 

erebrus

New member
Hi again everyone,
First of all, let me thank you for all the feedback. I'm very happy that this idea is being so well received everywhere.

Given the general interest, I have been studying the feasibility of extending the tool to be used by multiple users.

The first step is to precisely identify who is interested. With that in mind, I'd like those who are interested to either send me a private message here or an e-mail to roamingonwheels innovationtm com (just add the AT and the DOT in the spaces).

Currently the application is enjoying free hosting due to the limited traffic and storage required. Making it available to multiple users will change that and as such I'm looking into options. The most obvious is to charge a small fee for the service, assuming users believe this provides enough value. If not, then I'll have to see if there is another way I can proceed.
These are not in any way final values, but I'm currently thinking of:
1- Selling the mobile app for 5€ (aprox 6$)
2- Charging 10€ (approx 12$) yearly for the website

A few points should be noted:
1 - The website will allow all data to be exported (e.g. to files compatible with Google Earth and Excel) in case the users wishes to cancel the account.
2 - The mobile app does not require does not publish the data to the website in real time, both for privacy reasons and for connectivity issues (internet abroad is always more complicated)
3 - The mobile app and the website work together, but can also be used independently. The mobile app can be used alone to view the route taken (even if not as nicely as in the website) and see the reports. The website can get data from the mobile app, but also allows manually entering a trip - my moroccan trip in the website was added like that.

If there is enough interest, I'm also considering:
1- A lite version of the mobile app, with limited capacity
2- A 30 day trial period - no trip exporting allowed here though

Also, in parallel I'm looking into funding options (which can have an impact in these values) and establishing protocols with associations - exchanging endorsement for discounts.

I'm looking forward to hearing from all those who are interested. My idea is maybe send out a simple questionnaire surveying the interest in different features and as soon as I get a minimum number of users, proceed with the development. I'm starting some parts already.

Meanwhile, when I can I'll try to get some screenshots of the mobile app and share here so you can have an idea of it looks like and how it works.
 

erebrus

New member
I think that is a really cool way to document trips. For whomever is following your travels it becomes a much more interactive experience for them. Also looks like a fun way to recap your trip later for yourself or whoever your showing it to.

Yes, that was exactly what I had in mind. People who just fly somewhere when they travel won't get it, but I think for us, the way there is often more than the destination itself. As such, to relive our trip in such a way is really cool. My friends have also been having fun following me around :)
 

skates04

Adventurer
I think it is pretty nice and I could see a lot of people using this. I think you should post it in a different part of the forum, it doesn't seem like your post is getting much traffic in this section.

How user friendly or automated is it?

If it is easy to use/user friendly, sign me up! I would gladly give you what you are asking for the service. :)
 

erebrus

New member
I think it is pretty nice and I could see a lot of people using this. I think you should post it in a different part of the forum, it doesn't seem like your post is getting much traffic in this section.

How user friendly or automated is it?

If it is easy to use/user friendly, sign me up! I would gladly give you what you are asking for the service. :)

Yes, I've been thinking that perhaps there would be a better section? Not sure which one yet though...

Yes, most of it is very user friendly. The mobile app consists mostly of just a start/stop button, an add marker (for notes or expenses) button and a photo button (to add a picture, either taking it or getting from the gallery). Then there is a push/pull option to upload/download to/from the website.
On the website you don't actually need to do anything, but you can add/edit notes/photos. Some advanced features get slightly more complex, e.g. editing individual points in the map or creating new segments of the trip.

Glad to hear that you're interested!
 

erebrus

New member
Hi everyone,
I finally got around to taking some screenshots of the mobile app. The aesthetics still need some work - it has only been used by me, so I focused on functionality.
As you can see, most of it is very simple.
The main menu:
IiVYZnf.png


The main view, where you press the start/stop button to start/stop tracking and the add/photo buttons to add a marker (note or expense) or a photo.
MStlXnm.png
PktEXvh.png
osGwxWG.png
16wrQqQ.png

Here are some more advanced features, namely the push/pull buttons, which are used to download or upload from/to the website.
YcrfuSM.png


As you see, it is relatively simple to use. You basically just have to press the start button when you start your trip and stop when you stop. I'm planning on adding a feature for either automatically tracking if the app is online or at least warn the user if the app is on and the user is on the move, because one can always forget to press start. Even if I do forget, it's not too serious though, because the website allows you to add the missing points on the map.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,541
Messages
2,875,679
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top