Uber iOS App Could Soon Include Augmented Reality Directions for Finding Your Driver

[MacRumors]

Uber appears to be working on an augmented reality walking directions feature designed to help Uber users find the appropriate vehicle and driver in a crowded area. Mentions of augmented reality function were discovered in the Uber iOS app code by MacRumors contributor Steve Moser.

From Uber's augmented reality assisted pickup patent​

"Tap to enter AR walking experience," reads the code, which also includes these snippets that give hints on how the AR directions work:

• AR only available on iOS 11 and above.
• Walk outside
• Tilt camera up
• Pan your camera
• Ready, set, walk
• AR walking only works when you're outdoors
• Align arrows
• Be Careful and stay alert of your surroundings.
• Make sure you're outside and facing the street.
• Using some GPS sauce. Hold on.

Uber in 2018 patented an augmented reality assisted pickup feature that matches a rider with an available driver and helps them meet up through an augmented reality control module that directs the passenger through the camera app, and it appears the feature could soon be on its way to being deployed.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1376915916089331712

There is no word on when Uber's augmented reality assisted walking feature might debut, and the company has made no formal announcement at this time. Other apps like Google Maps also offer augmented reality walking directions that overlay directional arrows on the real-world view seen through the camera.

Article Link: Uber iOS App Could Soon Include Augmented Reality Directions for Finding Your Driver

 

[mansplains]

At least someone's thinking of how to put the LiDAR sensors to use... With how much Apple pushes AR (and pushed VR dev with iMac Pro, RIP) and rolled out LiDAR, the relevant apps are still in their infancy.

 

[GeoStructural]

At least someone's thinking of how to put the LiDAR sensors to use... With how much Apple pushes AR (and pushed VR dev with iMac Pro, RIP) and rolled out LiDAR, the relevant apps are still in their infancy.

Totally agree, they have said many times that AR/VR is the future and we still have not seen anything relevant from Apple on this front. The measurement app was supposed to be better with the addition of LiDAR but I have found virtually no difference.

 

[JosephAW]

Too bad they didn’t have real programmers that actually tested and use their product. Uber app has always overheated my iPhone devices, but none of the other services ever did. They also have a ongoing problem with messing up the iPhone sound.

 

[and 1989 others]

How many people have not found their Uber drivers, when you give them your precise location, picture and you receive their precise location, picture, car type, colour and registration?

 

[aesc80]

How many people have not found their Uber drivers, when you give them your precise location, picture and you receive their precise location, picture, car type, colour and registration?

You'd be surprised. One of my ex-coworkers got an Uber and didn't realize her GPS was off and the driver ended up on the opposite side of the street. She stood there waiting, not realize the guy was pretty much staring at her. Then again, she was blonde, so ...

 

[cwosigns]

FINALLY a use case scenario for LiDAR that seems useful.

 

[hot-gril]

How many people have not found their Uber drivers, when you give them your precise location, picture and you receive their precise location, picture, car type, colour and registration?

When the car goes somewhere not even close to the location I gave then sits there waiting.

One time, I made the mistake of ordering one near a 6-way intersection in SF. I thought standing somewhat down the street would've helped, but no. Driver stopped on the opposite side of the intersection and put on blinkers. When I finally realized and jay-ran across three red lights, he gave up and started driving away. AND marked me as being in the car. I chased the car down a crowded street, and eventually the jerk (well, I guess not a total jerk) let me in.

 

[Macintosh IIvx]

Seems a decent use of AR.

 

[alexandr]

...after they give you a low score.

 

[ConfusedChris]

Or use what3words.com ?

 

[DeepIn2U]

Uber appears to be working on an augmented reality walking directions feature designed to help Uber users find the appropriate vehicle and driver in a crowded area. Mentions of augmented reality function were discovered in the Uber iOS app code by MacRumors contributor Steve Moser.

From Uber's augmented reality assisted pickup patent​

"Tap to enter AR walking experience," reads the code, which also includes these snippets that give hints on how the AR directions work:

• AR only available on iOS 11 and above.
  
• Walk outside
  
• Tilt camera up
  
• Pan your camera
  
• Ready, set, walk
  
• AR walking only works when you're outdoors
  
• Align arrows
  
• Be Careful and stay alert of your surroundings.
  
• Make sure you're outside and facing the street.
  
• Using some GPS sauce. Hold on.

Uber in 2018 patented an augmented reality assisted pickup feature that matches a rider with an available driver and helps them meet up through an augmented reality control module that directs the passenger through the camera app, and it appears the feature could soon be on its way to being deployed.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1376915916089331712

There is no word on when Uber's augmented reality assisted walking feature might debut, and the company has made no formal announcement at this time. Other apps like Google Maps also offer augmented reality walking directions that overlay directional arrows on the real-world view seen through the camera.

Article Link: Uber iOS App Could Soon Include Augmented Reality Directions for Finding Your Driver

I'd personally rather Uber fixes the MAP UI they implemented about 2mths ago.
it's ridiculous and too much on the screen!
You barely can see what's around your driver or you any longer.

Just a horrible UI.

 

[itsthenewdc]

I'll admit I don't know much about patent law, but how is something like this patentable? It seems like it's using Apple's tech, and all it does is have a point on a "map" and has an arrow that directs you to it.

 

[macsareveryinteresting]

Totally agree, they have said many times that AR/VR is the future and we still have not seen anything relevant from Apple on this front. The measurement app was supposed to be better with the addition of LiDAR but I have found virtually no difference.

I still don’t get the difference between AR&VR.

 

[barkomatic]

If this is based on where the app says they are I’m not sure how useful it will be. My experience has been that it’s a little off and I end up looking for a black car which are everywhere in the city.

 

[GeoStructural]

I still don’t get the difference between AR&VR.

They are similar in many aspects, but here are some examples that may help you differentiate them:

• AR: Is an enhancement of the physical world, for example Pokémon Go, you are still seeing the real world from your lens but with some digital objects placed on top in a contextual manner. Another example is these Home Décor apps that let you place couches and chairs on your own living room, that is augmented reality.
• VR: Is a more immersive experience that has nothing to do with the real world. Think about those games in which you put on big glasses and you go around killing zombies or moving through fire. These things are so realistic that you get scared and your senses are so affected that you tumble and hit the ground thinking you are really experiencing this.

A personal anecdote is actually playing that Zombie game, they place you in a square banded grid but there is a big monitor in front of you that you use to set up the scene, once the game start you cannot see it, the game becomes your reality. So they make you sign a form where you agree to pay for the monitor if you break it. The guy told me many users had broke the screen before in boxing games and things like that.

 

[primarycolors]

How many people have not found their Uber drivers, when you give them your precise location, picture and you receive their precise location, picture, car type, colour and registration?

When the car goes somewhere not even close to the location I gave then sits there waiting.

One time, I made the mistake of ordering one near a 6-way intersection in SF. I thought standing somewhat down the street would've helped, but no. Driver stopped on the opposite side of the intersection and put on blinkers. When I finally realized and jay-ran across three red lights, he gave up and started driving away. AND marked me as being in the car. I chased the car down a crowded street, and eventually the jerk let me in.

This absolutely. I had a similar experience when I was a teenager, alone, anxious and lost in San Francisco trying to get to a festival.

It was absolute panic and sensory overload trying to find my Uber in the busy street among hundreds of similar cars. Juggling between the driver screaming at me over the phone in a thick accent and trying to find him on the GPS. Darted three blocks trying to find him before he hung up and cancelled the ride. In the process of wandering around to find a calmer spot to try again, I'd somehow gotten myself into a notoriously dangerous district. I only found out where I was when the next driver was concerned as to what a lone teenager was doing there.

I don't know how this feature would play out real-world, but if it works, it could save others from going through what I did. Situations like that also taught me the value of a small/one-handed phone, so I could hold mace in my offhand..

 

[thefourthpope]

Nice to see a productive use for AR.

I don’t get how this is something they can patent, and I hope that feeling is accurate so we can see this sort of application in more apps.

 

[Baritone_Guy]

Nice to see a productive use for AR.

I don’t get how this is something they can patent, and I hope that feeling is accurate so we can see this sort of application in more apps.

Hey, if Apple can patent round edges, then why not this?

 

[Tagbert]

How many people have not found their Uber drivers, when you give them your precise location, picture and you receive their precise location, picture, car type, colour and registration?

This would be helpful in congested areas with multiple people trying to get a ride. If you’ve tried to catch an Uber at the airport it can be mess when there may be dozens (and multiple dozens) of people all trying to find their rides.

 

[Tagbert]

Hey, if Apple can patent round edges, then why not this?

That iPad patent was not a patent on rounded edges. It was a design patent which are common for products to prevent knockoffs. The patent describes the appearance of the product, it’s material and it’s form including rounded edges. That was picked up by internet wise guys to say that Apple was trying to patent rounded corners.

 

[kobberrød]

how come such obvious and useful in more wide range of apps feature being patented and closed off for Uber only?

 

[BvizioN]

How many people have not found their Uber drivers, when you give them your precise location, picture and you receive their precise location, picture, car type, colour and registration?

You would be surprised. Daft people do daft things. But there are sometimes addressing/map issues into place. One of my previous addresses used to cause a lot of issues for delivery companies and Uber/Taxi drivers. And then there are crowded places with a lot of moving trafic where it may not be possible for the driver to stop exactly at your choosen location. AR would be helpful.

 

[Baumi]

I'm not quite sure how exactly AR is supposed to add value in these cases. If we had actual AR glasses and/or were far enough along for software to actually identify the car in real time and highlight it on the displayed image, I could see the point. But for merely showing me the way to a location on the phone, glancing on a map seems far more practical than having to hold up the device and "look through it" in order to see the way.

There's a reason why all those AR map applications haven't gone beyond novelty status yet.

 

[seinman]

How many people have not found their Uber drivers, when you give them your precise location, picture and you receive their precise location, picture, car type, colour and registration?

Uber driver here. We don't have the precise location or picture of the passenger. The only information given to the driver is the location of the pickup request (the pin on the map, not your actual physical location) and your first name. That's it. Our job is to go to the pin. Even if you turn on location sharing, which only about 5% of passengers do, it's wildly inaccurate because most people wait inside for their ride and so it can show it blocks away. Plus even if you ARE blocks away, we can't start the ride until we're close to the pin (requested pickup point), so your location doesn't matter. Our job is to go to the pin, not your location. Put the pin in the right place and you'll get a driver at the right place. Don't go just based on address, actually look at the map and pin location, and drag the pin to exactly where you want to be picked up, while you're requesting the ride. If you only give it your address and let it drop the pin wherever it decides, sometimes it'll be on the wrong side of the street/intersection, or sometimes it'll be at the wrong entrance to the building.

Edit: and be as specific as possible. I HATE pickups that are like "12th and Market." It puts the pin in the middle of the intersection. That gives me a 25% chance of being on the correct corner. Actually move the pin to the corner you'll be standing on. Better yet, since intersections are an extremely dangerous location to stop, walk half a block or look for an area nearby that's easier to stop and pull over, and put the pin there. I end up cancelling at least half of intersection pickups as "dangerous pickup location," which just delays your pickup because then it reassigns you to another driver who may also cancel for that reason.