Navigation SDK: Powering developers and drivers for fleet and logistics

TomTom has been at the forefront of digital mapping and navigation since it entered the market over 30 years ago. The company’s mapping solutions have powered some of the world’s biggest and most-loved applications. Now, companies and developers can access the same market-leading turn-by-turn navigation with TomTom’s new Navigation SDK for Mobile.

The Navigation SDK enables developers to build professional navigation applications that can be customized for end users. This modular SDK combines all of TomTom’s locations APIs with turn-by-turn navigation to create a full toolkit for developers. With the Navigation SDK for Mobile, you can expect:

• A smooth export of pre-planned routes
• Turn-by-turn navigation that incorporates truck attributes
• Detailed lane information on complex intersections with lane-level guidance
• Faster development with built-in and customizable UI
• Optimized multiple scheduled delivery points with Waypoint Optimization
• Access to the latest, most accurate ETAs with real-time traffic

What does navigation mean to fleet & logistics companies?

Current fleet routing solutions often mean that professional drivers have to use an array of consumer applications to navigate routes, receive support during their trips and send updates to their management.

Using multiple routing solutions at the same time is confusing and is likely to cause many headaches for fleet companies. When a fleet isn’t using a consistent integrated navigation system, there can be many risks such as team members that all see differently timed deliveries, inconsistencies finding delivery points in the last mile, and other unforeseen issues.

Worse, if an unexpected event arises during the trip where a fleet manager might need to intervene, these variations between team members could delay the recovery of a vehicle or establish the location of a driver who may be in desperate need of help.

Fleet managers and drivers need a consistent solution, and with Navigation SDK for Mobile, they can build exactly what they need.

The TomTom Navigation SDK is a toolkit for developers, empowering them to build location-based apps complete with turn by turn navigation.

What does this do for drivers?

The Navigation SDK prioritizes the device experience of drivers, by providing mobile-first support, regardless of whether they choose Android or iOS.

TomTom’s truck routing is also included and helps drivers on their journey, but also during planning. Parameters – such as height and width, axle weight and cargo types – unique to each vehicle within a fleet can be included in a driver’s planning. These key pieces of information can make a huge difference where route planning and adjustment are concerned. For example, HAZMAT loads are restricted on certain roads and tunnels, bridges, and more can make some routes impassable for certain cargos. Factoring this in when routes are planned can be a boon when routes have to be adjusted on the fly.

Real-time traffic information can support drivers by accounting for habitually congested areas. This information helps provide an accurate time-to-leave to plan their day and incident information to avoid accidents along the way.

Using the Navigation SDK allows fleet company back offices to easily keep track of each driver’s route –, the driver then doesn’t need to make as many manual updates and check-ins. Fleet managers also have faster access to tracking their assets in case of an emergency.

What does integrating Navigation SDK look like for developers?

Mobile development with Navigation SDK is supported in Kotlin for Android, and Swift for iOS.

Some libraries are difficult to learn, which creates long adjustment periods and slower ramp-up times for development teams. TomTom’s developer experience for Nav SDK aims to get around that and to do so, it includes modules which focus on existing key mapping components:

• Location

• Map Display

• Search

• Routing

• Navigation

Structuring development in this way creates a low learning curve, especially for developers migrating from using TomTom’s APIs to using the Navigation SDK.

Creating a quick integration experience should keep the strain of shifting navigation tools to a minimum. For developers, adopting the SDK with its full UX means a faster, easier transition to a more powerful solution. It also makes debugging far easier, too.

Ramping up a new navigation experience

Solving fleet drivers’ and managers’ problems is key to keeping our world moving, but the challenge certainly doesn’t end there.

The key to continue solving their problems is to keep creating useful, accessible and powerful navigation tools. The Navigation SDK’s flexible component structure means swifter development, making it easier for engineers to make these tools.

We must also keep making it easier for drivers to use and adopt the tech too. In doing so, we can take the load off fleet managers so that they have less to keep track of, instead of more eventualities to plan for.