Navigation | Mobile SDK | 2GIS Documentation
iOS SDK

Navigation

SDK allows you to implement the following navigation scenarios:

You can add a turn-by-turn navigation to your app using the ready-to-use interface components (INavigationView) and the NavigationManager class.

To do that, add a My location marker to the map and create a navigation layer using INavigationViewFactory and NavigationManager.

// Create a map object.
guard let mapFactory = try? sdk.makeMapFactory(options: .default) else {
    return
}

// Add the map view to the view hierarchy.
let mapView = mapFactory.mapView
mapView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
containerView.addSubview(mapView)
NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
    mapView.leftAnchor.constraint(equalTo: containerView.leftAnchor),
    mapView.rightAnchor.constraint(equalTo: containerView.rightAnchor),
    mapView.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: containerView.topAnchor),
    mapView.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: containerView.bottomAnchor)
])

// Add the current location marker to the map.
let locationSource = MyLocationMapObjectSource(
    context: sdk.context,
    directionBehaviour: .followSatelliteHeading,
    controller: createSmoothMyLocationController()
)
let map = mapFactory.map
map.addSource(source: locationSource)

// Create a NavigationManager object.
let navigationManager = NavigationManager(platformContext: sdk.context)

// Attach the map to the NavigationManager.
navigationManager.mapManager.addMap(map: map)

// Create a NavigationViewFactory object.
let navigationViewFactory = sdk.makeNavigationViewFactory()

// Create a navigation view and add it to the view hierarchy above the map.
let navigationView = navigationViewFactory.makeNavigationView(
    map: map,
    navigationManager: navigationManager
)
navigationView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
containerView.addSubview(navigationView)
NSLayoutConstraint.activate([
    navigationView.leftAnchor.constraint(equalTo: containerView.leftAnchor),
    navigationView.rightAnchor.constraint(equalTo: containerView.rightAnchor),
    navigationView.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: containerView.topAnchor),
    navigationView.bottomAnchor.constraint(equalTo: containerView.bottomAnchor)
])

// Add an event handler for the close button.
navigationView.closeButtonCallback = { [weak navigationManager] in
    navigationManager?.stop()
}

You can start navigation in one of three modes: free-drive, turn-by-turn, and the simulated navigation mode.

Additional navigation settings can be changed using the properties of the NavigationManager object.

In free-drive mode, no route will be displayed on the map, but the user will still be informed about speed limits, traffic cameras, incidents, and road closures.

To start navigation in this mode, call the start() method without arguments.

navigationManager.start()

In turn-by-turn mode, a route will be displayed on the map and the user will receive navigation instructions as they move along the route.

To start navigation in this mode, call the start() method and specify a RouteBuildOptions object - arrival coordinates and route settings.

let routeBuildOptions = RouteBuildOptions(
    finishPoint: RouteSearchPoint(
        coordinates: GeoPoint(
            latitude: 55.752425,
            longitude: 37.613983
        )
    ),
    routeSearchOptions: routeSearchOptions
)

navigationManager.start(routeBuildOptions)

Additionally, when calling the start() method, you can specify a TrafficRoute object - a complete route object for navigation (for details, see the Routing chapter). In this case, NavigationManager will use the specified route instead of building a new one.

// Building a route.
self.routeSearchCancellable = routesFuture.sink { routes in
    guard let route = routes.first else { return }

    // Route settings.
    let routeBuildOptions = RouteBuildOptions(
        finishPoint: finishPoint,
        routeSearchOptions: routeSearchOptions
    )
    // Start navigation.
    navigationManager.start(
        routeBuildOptions: routeBuildOptions,
        trafficRoute: route
    )
} failure: { error in
    print("Couldn't build the route: \\(error)")
}

In this mode, NavigationManager will not track the current location of the device. Instead, it will simulate a movement along the specified route.

This mode is useful for debugging.

To use this mode, call the startSimulation() method and specify a RouteBuildOptions object (route settings) and a TrafficRoute object (the route itself).

You can change the speed of the simulated movement using the SimulationSettings.speed property (specified in meters per second).

navigationManager.simulationSettings.speed = 30 / 3.6
navigationManager.startSimulation(
    routeBuildOptions: routeBuildOptions,
    trafficRoute: route
)

To stop the simulation, call the stop() method.

navigationManager.stop()

  

The SDK provides the ability to build routes within certain buildings for which there are floor plans. For example, you can build a route to a specific store in a mall, make a complex route between several points, etc.

This type of navigation is included in the Full SDK, but has a number of limitations:

  • Can only be activated in pedestrian navigation mode
  • Due to the way modern positioning systems work, the ability to determine the position inside buildings is severely limited. When the system determines that the device has entered the limits of the building, the geopositioning tracking and its display will be disabled, leaving the constructed route and recommendations for the passage. We are working to overcome these challenges and hope to provide a reliable way to determine the location inside buildings in the future.

Creating a route follows the principles described in Turn-by-turn mode with a few important additions. When creating a route endpoint RouteSearchPoint, you must specify the objectId and levelId parameters.

// RouteBuildOptions object is also required
let routeBuildOptions = RouteBuildOptions(
    finishPoint: RouteSearchPoint(
        coordinates: GeoPoint(latitude: 55.752425, longitude: 37.613983),
        objectId: ..., // // You can get it from DgisMapObject
        levelId : ..., // You can get it from DirectoryObject or RenderedObjectInfo
    ),
    // routeSearchOptions must be of type PedestrianRouteSearchOptions
    routeSearchOptions: PedestrianRouteSearchOptions()
)

If you use a standard set of navigation UI controllers by creating a standard INavigationViewControlsFactory as recommended in beginning of section, this feature is already available and does not require any pre-configuration.

When using your own controllers in the UI, you can use the standard SDK features to detect when entering the indoor navigation mode, namely subscribing to indoorChannel. This channel can be obtained from NavigationManager.

While driving along a car route, the navigator regularly searches for other ways to reach the destination point. For alternative routes search, all specified route parameters and intermediate points (except for already visited ones) are taken into account.

An alternative route is displayed on the map when a corresponding intersection is approaching, but the user still has enough time to make a decision.

The alternative route is shown on the map as a line with a bubble indicating the difference in travel time: how much time the user saves or loses if they switch to the alternative route. To switch to this route, the user can tap the route line on the screen or simply turn onto the alternative route at the intersection. If the user continues driving along the main route at the intersection, the alternative route disappears from the map.

Among the alternative routes, a special type called the "better route" may be highlighted if a route meets the following criteria:

  • The expected travel duration on the "better route" must be significantly shorter than the remaining part of the main route. The default difference is 5 minutes.
  • The "better route" must be significantly different from the main route in geometry (in the roads it passes). By default, the difference in the length of differing route segments is 500 meters.

If a "better route" is found among the detected alternative routes, an additional UI control is displayed on the map. By tapping this element, the user can either switch to the "better route" or explicitly decline it. This element disappears from the screen after a certain time (30 seconds by default), but the route line continues to be displayed on the map until the user passes the intersection.

At any given time, only one route can be suggested to the user as the "better route". The search for a new "better route" begins after the user explicitly declines the previous one (by tapping the UI control) or after passing the intersection where the "better route" was available.

To change the parameters for searching for alternative routes, create an AlternativeRoutesProviderSettings object and pass it when configuring a NavigationManager:

self.navigationManager.alternativeRoutesProviderSettings.alternativeRoutesEnabled = true

To switch navigation to an alternative route, use AlternativeRouteSelector:

self.navigationManager.alternativeRouteSelector.selectAlternativeRoute(trafficRoute: route)

During navigation, you can receive dynamic route information through the uiModel property in NavigationManager and display it in the navigator UI. The Model class provides the following parameters:

  • navigator state (state and stateChannel)
  • current geolocation used by the navigator (location and locationChannel)
  • flag indicating if current geolocation is being used for navigation (locationAvailable and locationAvailableChannel)
  • route information with maneuvers (route and routeChannel)
  • road events and traffic data on the route (dynamicRouteInfo and dynamicRouteInfoChannel)
  • current user position on the route (routePosition and routePositionChannel)
  • flag indicating if the speed limit is exceeded (exceedingMaxSpeedLimit and exceedingMaxSpeedLimitChannel)
  • flag indicating if a "better route" is found (betterRoute and betterRouteChannel)
  • distance (distance) and time (duration) to the end of the route
  • flag indicating if the free roam mode is used (isFreeRoam)

The route information in Model changes dynamically relative to the user current position on the route. To get the current position, subscribe to the routePositionChannel and then use this value to obtain other route data. See more about working with channels in the Data channels section.

For example, you can get the following information:

  • Distance (distance) and time (duration) from the current point to the end of the route:

    // Channel for getting a position on the route
    let positionChannel = navigationManager.uiModel.routePositionChannel
    
    self.cancellable = positionChannel.sink { [weak self] routePosition in
        DispatchQueue.main.async {
    
        // Distance to the end of the route in meters
        let distance = navigationManager.uiModel.distance
    
        // Time to the end of the route in seconds
        let duration = navigationManager.uiModel.duration
    
        ...
        }
    }
    
  • Road events and traffic jam data (dynamicRouteInfo). Road events data is stored in the RoadEventRouteAttribute and you can get an element from it by a position on the route.

    For example, to get the next nearest road event on the route:

    // Channel for getting a position on the route
    let positionChannel = navigationManager.uiModel.routePositionChannel
    
    self.cancellable = positionChannel.sink { [weak self] routePosition in
        DispatchQueue.main.async {
    
        // Get the nearest road event relative to the current position
        let dynamicInfo = navigationManager.uiModel.dynamicRouteInfo
        let nearestEvent = dynamicInfo.roadEvents?.findNearForward(point: routePosition)
    
        ...
        }
    }
    
  • Current navigator state. You can get it by subscribing to the stateChannel channel or separately (state):

    // Get navigator state outside of the channel
    let currentState = navigationManager.uiModel.state
    
    // Channel for getting navigator state
    let stateChannel = navigationManager.uiModel.stateChannel
    
    self.cancellable = stateChannel.sink { state in
        DispatchQueue.main.async {
    
        ...
        }
    }
    

    Navigator can be in one of the following states:

    • disabled - inactive (initial state).
    • navigation - in the turn-by-turn navigation mode.
    • routeSearch - searching for a new route.
    • finished - completed navigation on the route (the finish point is reached).