Can't believe navigation is a subscription service (?!?!?)

Question

There are so many free navigation apps, I am floored that ESRI wants $50/yr/user to safely, efficiently use a service (Collector) for which we are already paying. This nonsense is going to cause an accident as users have to repeatedly stop and check/update static direction lists that look like they came from Mapquest in 1998... does anyone know of an efficient workaround using another navigation app - i.e. one that will run in the background and pull the location from a selected Collector point for navigation? We are using iOS and Android. Thanks! cob

XanderBakker · Answer

Navigator makes use of the concept and pattern of "deep linking" apps together. It will be difficult to find a navigator App that will do that and integrates with the Apps of the ArcGIS Platform.

You may be interested in Workforce (currently in beta) which is a good example of deep linking several Apps.

Workforce for ArcGIS Beta 1 Released! | ArcGIS Blog

CharlescobBailey · Answer

Thanks Mark, but there are plenty of free/nearly free apps that will navigate to locations on a map - what we need is to have navigation functionality through Collector. Since it's already tracking the GPS position and can generate static directions based on the road network, is it really such a stretch to have real time voice navigation capability (like say Google maps in mobile)? In addition, some of our Collector points are not accessible by road (we are a forestry agency) and we want to be able to navigate back to these points which is a big fail in Collector. I just don't understand why this functionality wasn't built into Collector in the first place. $50/user/year is outrageous for a simple navigation app... Navigator may do more that that, but that's all we need.

MarkBockenhauer · Answer

Charles,

Navigator for ArcGIS provides turn by turn directions (voice guidance) based on your current location as you are driving.   Locations or features identified in Collector for ArcGIS can also be sent to Navigator.  Navigator works completely disconnected (does not use a service) and all information needed to generate driving directions are stored on the device.

Navigator is currently available for IOS and will be available on Android next year.  Also, with ArcGIS Pro 1.2 (the next release) you will be able to create your own navigation maps for use in Navigator.

A 60 day free trial is available if you want to check it out.

Navigator for ArcGIS

Mark