TrailGen

TrailGen is an app that makes it easier to get out and get active. 
You enter how much time you have free and then from your location it will provide you with a walk that will have you back in time (taking into account the drive time and your walking speed). For safety it keeps an eye on the daylight left and lets you know if you need to turn around or if you need to take a torch because it will be getting dark before you complete the walk. 
An alternative way the application works is to find you a walk that will burn off a specific amount of food or calories. Two burgers for lunch? Need to lose one of them? Let TrailGen give you the local walk to do just that.

Important Features:

• The app will tell you the driving time and walking time so you can make the best selection, 
• There is a night-time safety feature warning you to take a torch if you it will get dark while you are out. 
• There is a calorie calculator so you can say you have consumed this many calories how long should you walk for. Target Audience: 
• Tourists, anyone visiting different locations or even people with a bit of time to kill. 
• Pretty much anybody between the ages of 16-90.

What Data sets were used?

• Doc Track Locations (to determine the start and stop of the doc tracks)
• Linz Astronomical information (to determine sunset and sunrise times in a given location)
• Nokia Here (to nicely display maps and work out distances to locations)

The underlying goal:

• The goal of the application is create a platform that makes it easier for the community and tourists to find walks they can do today. 
• The quirky food to distance sliders are is really just an engagement tool (the silliness of knowing how many carrots you will burn on your walk). 
• The broader vision is to add further functions such as local attractions you would like to see (for example wildlife habitats) to add to the reasons people will have for doing a walk. 

The Need for Open Government Data:  

• The team was limited by the availability of DOC data. We would LOVE to see the publishing of detailed data associated with each asset ID. While we had the track polygons for distance etc. we could not connect the asset ID to other information about the tracks, locations and facilities. It is likely that this would be easy for DOC to do and it could enable very rich tools to be built. 
• Applications like this are also potential tools for DOC to enrich their own data via structured data feedback on wildlife sightings, pest sightings, damage and risks etc. 

Future Development:

• Activity logging: 
  • Maintaining a log for each user to showing current progress and tracks previously walked
  • Collection of track walking times for improved walk time predictions (based on that users prior history of walk times relative to others)
  • Profiles (To customize your app and search criteria)
• Social Tools:
  • Sharing/posting of tracks walked
  • Popularity ratings for tracks (from other people who have done the walk)
  • Report damage to signs, tracks or DOC equipment.
  • Report and share sightings of birds/pests etc
• Safety:
  • Share your location with Friends and family
  • While playing music also play Mic Sounds so you can be more aware of your surroundings
  • Add weather warnings if the track could be washed out or slippery, or if would be good to take extra warm gear and a rain coat. 
• Point of Interest Information:
  • To make it like you have a private tour guide with you
• Language Packs (to allow for tourists)
• Expand the tracks available to other free walking tracks too.

Limitations:

• Limited DOC data associated with each asset/asset ID
• The application was built fully client side which, in hindsight, is a bit limiting in terms handling a large map dataset. We would revise this and do more on the server side given more time.
• We intended to but didn’t plot the selected walks (time constraints)
• We intended to but didn’t implement links to further DOC track information (except for a limited set around Whangarei).
• We intended to, but didn’t add images associated with each track (time constraints).