The Professional’s iPad GPS App

With clever use of in-built GPS technology and, with iPad 2, Augmented Reality, the iPad is the perfect tool for finding places of interest and generally not getting lost. The following app is designed to help you out of a tight spot and bombard you with things to do while out and about.

Theodolite HD
The professional’s choice for real-time navigation stats
Price: £2.39/$3.99 Developer: Craig Hunter
Rating ★★★★★

For most people, Augmented Reality o ffers the opportunity to create a cool game or help users find local services, Hunter Research has found an incredible way to combine several navigation instruments in one app. Features include a camera overlay in realtime showing information about position, altitude, bearing, range, and inclination. The instruments respond to touch, and although to most they better represent what Iron Man might be seeing in his heads-up display, they actually o er a perfect set of tools for engineers, geologists, architects and military personnel.

The ability to track the exact position of the device using GPS is combined with the ability to take readings of the exact angle of the iPad both relative to the horizon and the oor, as well as calculating the axis angle at which the iPad is leaning. A practical use for this would be the measurement of the inclination of a hill for surveyor. What’s more, the app can measure two points in relation to each other so that users can use the reference to make detailed calculations about the relationships between those two points.

Serious users will no doubt find the information very useful, but there is a limitation to the iPad 2 as a potential precision instrument. It’s not fixed and will require a tripod for any really technical work so that exact angles can be worked out and measured. In the interim before the iPad is mounted, users can use the horizon gauge to get accuracy on a 90 degree plane, but more detailed angles may be diff cult to achieve. Other features that may entice those who don’t wish to cart a bag of instruments around them include a GPS reading and its presentation relative to a map on a separate screen. You can, of course, use the nautical bearings on the Heads up display, but the Map view has obvious bene fi ts. The ability to alter the settings is a plus, as is taking screenshots for future recall.

This is a specialist app, and as a result one would expect a price tag that would re ect this. However, Theodolite is well worth the investment. While the information may not suit all, its ease of use means anyone can enjoy it. Of course, if you have the money to hand then it is worth investing in just to impress your friends down the pub. No other app does Augmented Reality quite as good as this at present and to have such quality graphics layered over the view nder screen of your iPad 2 is very impressive.

taken from :
iPad 2 App Directory Volume 2
magine Publishing Ltd