Ford Has Created the Navigation Feature Google Maps and Waze Must Copy ASAP

Everybody wants to get to their destinations as fast as possible, so these applications have become a must-have driving companion for most of us.

However, if you've such software—Waze especially—you probably know that navigation apps have one major shortcoming: they indeed get you to your destination faster, but they sometimes suggest complex routes that include multiple turns in a row.

Eventually, the high complexity of a route is such a big shortcoming that some drivers look for simpler routes – it's why a significant number of drivers no longer use Waze but stick with alternative apps, such as Google Maps, which typically favor main roads.

Ford believes it can resolve this problem with a clever approach.

The American carmaker has recently patented an idea called "systems and methods for ranking routes based on driving complexity," and if you haven't already determined its goal, let me explain in the next few paragraphs.

Ford believes that beginners might "feel intimidated by the complexity of certain routes," especially if they include a certain required speed (for example, when the route includes a highway, and beginners don't feel prepared to drive that fast) or a big number of sharp turns with oncoming traffic. It's also not a secret that many beginners have a hard time turning left in a busy intersection, and this is why some navigation apps allow them to exclude such turns from routes.

Ford says that while navigation apps currently on the market can help drivers arrive at their destinations faster, this limitation makes it difficult for beginners to gain experience and benefit from such software. Its idea comes down to a system that suggests routes based on the experience of every driver, showing a complexity rating before starting navigation.

The carmaker says a system that can calculate the complexity of every route would allow the driver to choose how to drive to the destination based on their experience, eventually making them feel more comfortable behind the wheel. This system can also "assist the driver in gradually moving from easier to more difficult routes."

It sounds like a driving game, but Ford says drivers must know how complex a route is before they start driving.

To do this, Ford's technology considers multiple factors when determining the route complexity, including the average vehicle speeds. In the case of highways, the navigation system could avoid them by excluding this type of road from route generation, but other high-speed roads could also be included. The system can also look for difficult intersections, roundabouts, highway merges, roads with difficult conditions (such as slippery surfaces due to freezing temperatures or rain), tunnels, bridges, and high crash statistics.

The route complexity model includes every single factor that would make a road more difficult for inexperienced drivers, and Ford's system would present all this data in the route selection screen. The application can generate a complexity score based on all these factors and allow the driver to pick the route with the lowest rating.

Another interesting part is how the system can determine how experienced a driver is before they begin driving. Ford says an integrated system can automatically collect driving data, such as the average travel speed on different roads, braking frequency, and even via biometric systems to determine how comfortable the driver feels.

Additionally, drivers themselves can configure their experience in a mobile app or car so they can get appropriate routes when they drive to a destination.

Eventually, the vehicle would create and store a profile for each driver, so when it looks for routes, it analyzes its driving experience, calculates the complexity of each route, and suggests ways to drive to a destination based on all the factors mentioned above.

Drivers can see all routes on the same screen, along with the complexity route and what makes them easier or more difficult to navigate.

Interestingly, Ford explains that this system can be integrated into a vehicle but can also become a feature of a navigation app, so at some level, the company seems to suggest that it could work with giants like Google and Apple to make such features happen in Google Maps and Apple Maps. While I doubt the tech giants would be interested in such a collaboration, Ford could offer this system in vehicles powered by Android Automotive or the new-generation CarPlay (Ford has yet to announce a model powered by the new CarPlay), where navigation apps are deeper integrated into the driving experience and can collect more data.

Ford's idea is still in the patent stage, and there's no guarantee that the company would pursue it to release it to drivers. You can find the patent application in the box after the jump, and fingers crossed that Google and Apple take notice because it all sounds like a brilliant proposal that all navigation apps should adopt.