Automotive Grade Maps and Navigation for Everyone Technical Preview Release

13.07.2021 BogDan Vatra 4 comments

It is our pleasure to introduce a shiny new Maps & Navigation solution for QML developers!

This QML plugin is a joint effort between KDAB & General Magic to bring the excellent General Magic Maps and Navigation SDK to the QML world.

What makes the General Magic QML plugin special?

• It’s easy to use. With this QML plugin, you can write custom Map & Navigation apps in no time.
• It’s lightweight. It runs on even low-end embedded platforms
• You can work with it both offline and online. Yes, you can do: mapping, searching, routing, and navigation using only the offline data stored on your device. Of course the same features will work with online data, if an internet connection is available.
• It supports multiple platforms. We currently support the following platforms:
  • Embedded: GNU/Linux (armv7a, armv8)
  • Mobile: Android (x86, x86_64, armv7 & armv8), iOS
  • Desktop: GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, Windows (msvc)
• It has all the features that you expect from a first class Maps and Navigation SDK:
  • Maps: OpenStreetMaps, terrain, satellite imagery, online & offline
  • Search: fuzzy search, address search, forward geocoding, reverse geocoding, online & offline
  • Routing: car, pedestrian, bicycle, public transport, traffic aware routing, online & offline
  • Navigation: turn-by-turn guidance, traffic aware rerouting, lane guidance, speed limits, speed cameras, online & offline

For more information, including licensing options, please visit the products and pricing pages.

How can I get the maps and navigation QML plugin?

Please see this page for step by step instructions.

In the above video, you’ll find a step-by-step example of how to create a simple navigation application on Linux and deploy and run it on Android and RPi4. The QML plugin and its documentation and examples should then be installed in your Qt/QtCreator. If you prefer the online documentation, you can access it here.

This plugin is currently a Technical Preview release! That means that, while it is fully functional and ready for you to try out, you should use it with caution in production, as we reserve the right to change the API without notice, for the moment. It also means that we are looking for feedback and issue reports. We encourage everyone to report them here.