A car navigation system is an indispensable tool for visiting points of interest. In this article, I will explain the " dual-force car navigation technique" that I learned myself while taking a detour to visit some GEONET Stations. Of course, it is not a secret skills that is handed down inside a single family tree, but rather how to use both the map on your tablet/smart phone and the car navigation system in your car together.
As you know, a car navigation system not only provides route guidance but also predicts the arrival time. If you follow the route indicated by the car navigation system, the estimated time of arrival will not change much, but if you take detours, it will gradually shift backward.
If you have flight reservation, the required arrival time will be determined. The gap between the estimated time and the required time is your "additional time". I tried to expand the scope of my activities within that time.
As a concrete route, I took a trip to the Oga Peninsula in Akita Prefecture, after getting off the highway on my way from Noshiro City to Akita Airport.
There are three GEONET Stations on the Oga Peninsula: "Oga 1", "P Oga", and "Oga 2". I could be to cleared "Oga 1" and "P Oga," but while searching for "Oga 2," the estimated arrival time of the car navigation system coincided with the mandatory arrival time, so my time was up.
I ended the search, headed for the airport as I had been instructed, because I ran out of time. Though I could not complete Oga Peninshla, I arrived to the airport in time for my flight.
Even though you are in an unknown place and far from destination, it was very reassuring to know how much time you have. Which was calculated by deduction of travel time from current time in real time.
Thanks to this, I was not troubled by having too much time, or panicked by having too little time, and was able to use my time effectively for visiting GEONET Stations.
The car navigation system is originally a tool for knowing your current location and route. The dual-force car navigation system becames your "countdown timer" in unfamilier places. It could be said it's a tool for "flexibly changing your travel route while keeping track of the time you have", which was a bit of a personal discovery for me.
By the way, it is well known that it was Japanese engineers who first commercialized GPS car navigation systems.
Dr. Parkinson, the father of GPS, told the following story in a invitational lecture for the engineers of Google.
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I once introduced the basic idea of a car navigation system at Stanford University. Five of Japanese engineers were frantically running their pens, but the engineers from Detroit were listening, shaking their heads as if to say that such a thing would never happen.
(from around 24 minutes)
Some people say, "Sadly, children have started to pinch and flick paper maps." I understand that feelings, but I don't agree with the opinions like that.
As in generations that grew up with paper and electoric map, I know the usefulness of both maps. There is not so much I can do as an consumer, I sometimes think it would be to show the gratefullness to engneers that we find new ways to use them.