I really like the new addition to the Viewranger mapping app. It is called Skyline and it allows you to explore the outdoors using “augmented reality”.
Using revolutionary technology, Skyline uses the camera on a phone or tablet to annotate and interact with the surrounding landscape. Skyline is free with the latest version of the ViewRanger app. It is available now in the Apple App Store and coming soon on Google Play.
Skyline has been inspired by Alfred Wainwright’s pictorial guides to the English Lake District mountains, which include hand-drawn illustrations of hiking routes. Skyline is able to identify peaks, towns, lakes, cliffs, bays and even glaciers up to 20 miles away through a phone or tablet’s camera. It overlays the names across the landscape.
When navigating a pre-planned route, waypoints and directional arrows also appear, offering an enhanced navigational experience.
Craig Wareham, ViewRanger co-founder and CEO, says: “Skyline tells you what you’re looking at and shows you which way to travel, fundamentally changing the way in which you use maps and how you interact with the landscape around you.
“When we started ViewRanger, our vision was always to place map information directly into the landscape around the user. Now Skyline makes that a reality.”
To use Skyline, download and launch the latest ViewRanger app update, tap the Skyline button on the map screen and pan the landscape in the modified camera view to transform your next outdoor adventure.
Skyline facts and figures
Like the ViewRanger app, Skyline works without phone or data signals by using the GPS chip and sensors built into mobile devices to understand your location and position. It also uses offline maps that can be downloaded and saved to your device before leaving home.
Skyline identifies nine million points and works across 80% of the globe, essentially everywhere except the northern and southern Polar regions.
Mike Brocklehurst, CTO and co-founder of ViewRanger says: “It’s an exciting time for ViewRanger and we’ve already had a very positive reaction from people using Skyline in the USA, Japan, Australia, France, Italy and the UK. Now we’re excited to hear what outdoor enthusiasts around the world think of it.”
Skyline in action
I used the Skyline facility while walking Munros in the Mamores this weekend. I found it useful, mostly accurate (I think?!) and a lot of fun. Although the app doesn’t always seem to annotate all the mountian tops in your view it does a good job of highlighting most of them.
I usually rely on the knowledge and brilliant memory of the G-Force for my Munro naming but the Skyline helps me to check if he is telling me the right information!
I liked that I could take a photo of the annotated photo screen, too. Like this:
