Let’s Get Lost: Redesigning the GPS Process
September 17th, 2012 By The Artist Formerly Known as Kate
GPS devices for personal use usually help us figure out how to get somewhere we want to go. With a few simple additions, GPSs can get us lost and take us to someone else’s favorite place. This concept would be an optional modification to a GPS device, using existing technology. Instead of inputting a desired destination, users would rely on custom navigation and recorded narration from local cab drivers (in this example), directing them to a place they’ve likely never been.
Inspired by TaxiGourmet (http://www.taxigourmet.com), I envision using GPS devices as a communication system for taxicab drivers (and other “locals”) to lead other drivers to their favorite restaurants and out-of-the-way places.
- Using an external microphone with the GPS in his own car, Joe the taxicab driver records a narrative as he drives to his favorite restaurant. The mic records his voice, while the GPS records the car’s movements.
- Once he arrives at the destination, he uploads the narration and directions.
- Two weeks later, the Smith family is jonesing for some kimchi. They hop in the car and start typing in the address for their favorite Korean restaurant, when little Johnny Smith suggests using the “Let’s Get Lost” hack on their GPS. They leave their fate up to a random set of directions from a stranger. The Smiths are adventurous folks.
- The GPS device directs them to the starting point of the cab driver’s directions. Once they hit the starting point, Joe’s narration kicks in, leading them to a mysterious location that will not be revealed until they reach it.
- Twenty minutes later, the Smiths reach Joe’s favorite West African restaurant. There’s no kimchi on the menu, but they’ll find something new to try.
Let’s Get Lost is more about redesigning a process than physically redesigning the GPS hardware. This system would probably require an external microphone (already available on Garmin devices), possibly a SIM card (to streamline the process and avoid having to plug the GPS into a computer to upload), and some kind of web interface/app. It’s simply reappropriating a device that’s designed to get you to the “right” place in the more direct way. Users would be forced out of their local comfort zones and left at the mercy of a stranger, just as if they asked a cab driver to take them to his favorite restaurant.
