Locus Map

Developer(s)Asamm Software, s.r.o., Prague, CZ
Initial release2010
Operating systemAndroid
Available inEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, and other 24 languages
TypeWeb mapping
LicenseProprietary
Websitewww.locusmap.app

Locus Map is a multi-functional Android navigation app. Primarily it is designed and used for leisure time outdoor activities like hiking, biking, or geocaching. The app is also used by professionals e.g. by S&R teams or for collecting geospatial data.[1]

The app was developed in 2010 by Czech developer Jiří Mlavec, founder of Asamm Software company, based in Prague, Czech Republic. Locus Map development is carried out in cooperation with the community of its users-contributors and as such is partially crowd-sourced.

The application has registered more than 5 000 000 installations and has been reviewed in professional media (e.g. Computer Bild.[2][3][4] or AndroidPIT[5]). It received awards in several app competitions and polls.[6][7]

Features

Track recording - creating statistics and charts, customizable recording profiles, TTS generated audio-coached workouts, support of external bluetooth and ANT+ sensors

Route planning - available either directly in the app or on the web planner

Points of interest (POI) - creating personal points, search and sorting of OSM based points of interest in an offline database, sound notifications of approaching points

Web library - cloud-based storage of users' routes, tracks and points, synchronized with all devices connected to a user's account

Search of places, addresses, coordinates (including W3W) or phone contacts

Geocaching - Locus Map is one of the official Geocaching.com API partners.[8] It enables downloading geocaches for offline use, navigation to geocaches with map and compass, online and offline logging, supports waypoints, PocketQuery, trackables and spoilers

Turn-by-turn navigation and guidance - navigation with voice commands, beeline guidance to a point on map or by compass

Live tracking - real time sharing user's position with other users publicly or in private groups

Cycling computer functions - speedometer, odometer, average speed, maximum speed, elevation profile, elevation gain, customizable dashboard, digits are displayed above a map, support of external sensors for monitoring heart rate and pedaling cadence

Import/export - importing/exporting points and routes from/to the Internet or from/to other software in a wide range of formats (KML, KMZ, GPX...), exporting workouts to services like Strava, Runkeeper,[9] Google Earth, etc.

GPS - skyplot displaying actual satellite network, GPS status notifications, support of external GPS units

Customization - the app offers a wide range of customization options - menus, screen panels, coordinate systems, or units

Maps

Locus Map displays maps of various providers in online and offline mode:

Online maps

  • World - LoMaps - OSM-based hiking/biking map and many other free maps based on OpenStreetMap
  • US - USGS, ChartBundle...
  • Europe - IGN (France), Outdooractive (Germany, Austria), Kapsi.fi (Finland), Turistautak (Hungary), Skoterleder (Sweden), Map1.eu (Europe)
  • other parts of the World - Visicom (Ukraine, Asia, World), GSI maps (Japan), SledMap (World), Navigasi (Indonesia), NzTopoMaps (New Zealand) and others
  • support of WMS and WMTS sources - meteorological maps, NASA maps, cadastral maps...

Most of the online maps can be downloaded for offline use.

Offline maps

  • World - LoMaps - OSM-based vector maps with changeable themes - hiking, cycling, skiing, road or city use
  • US - AccuTerra
  • UK - Ordnance Survey
  • France - IGN
  • Germany, Austria - Outdooractive
  • other Europe - SwissTopo maps (Switzerland), SHOCart (Czech Republic and Slovakia), Compass (Poland), CNIG (Spain)
  • support of SQLiteDB, TAR, MBT, GEMF, Orux or RMAP formats
  • support of other OpenStreetMap data or custom map themes

Licence

Locus Map is available in two versions, each with a different licensing:

  • Locus Map 4 - basic version is free, has limited features and contains an advertisement banner strip. There are two more Premium plans - Silver and Gold - enabling more features, available for subscription and one-off payments. The main development branch. Available on Google Play and Amazon.
  • Locus Map 3 Classic - originally Locus Map Pro, a single payment license with no time or device limits. Maintained and supported version from 2021 with only slight updates. Available on Google Play only.

Locus community

Locus Map has been developed in cooperation with its users who communicate with the app's developers via dedicated forum or general GPS or navigation discussions. The main source of users' contributions is the helpdesk with voting system - users themselves vote for changes and improvements in the app. Despite the app developers operate in the Czech republic, major part of the Locus community is located in Germany.[10] The application translations are crowd-sourced.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Navigation and Mapping with Locus Map". Fulcrum. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  2. ^ "Locus Pro CBE". ComputerBild (4/2012).
  3. ^ "Navi für Stadt, Land, Fluss und Meer". ComputerBild (4/2014).
  4. ^ "Karten für Alle Fälle". ComputerBild (12/2015).
  5. ^ "review at AndroidPIT.com". Archived from the original on 2017-04-09. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  6. ^ "Best Mobile App Awards nominations".
  7. ^ "Aplikace roku 2015 (Czech App of the year 2015)". Archived from the original on 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  8. ^ "Geocaching.com API partner registration".
  9. ^ "Runkeeper API partner registration".
  10. ^ "Locusmap.de - German Locus community server".
  11. ^ "Locus — Translation Project on Crowdin". Crowdin. Retrieved 2016-04-13.