Download here!

How does it work?

Navigation takes place in realtime in the live-camera image of your smartphone. Next to a conventional 3D map view, Wikitude Drive has a spectacular Augmented Reality camera view, where driving directions are directly drawn into the real road you are driving on.

The advantages:

The system works by attaching your mobile phone on top of your dashboard with the camera facing the road. The application then overlays video captured through the camera with driving instructions. This allows users to literally drive through their phone, watching the road even while they are looking at directions.

Never take the eyes off the road! Wikitude Drive solves a key problem that all other navigation systems have. These systems require the driver to take his eyes off the road in order to look at the abstract navigation map. Just by looking at the map screen for one second when driving at 100 km/h (62 mph), the driver is actually “blind” for 28 meters (92 ft). Think about how much can happen in those precious meters. Since Wikitude Drive provides you with driving directions on top of the live video stream, you still see what is happening in front of you when looking at the display of your mobile AR navigation system.

Supported Smartphones:

Due to the enormous hardware requirements, Wikitude Drive supportes only a limited number of high-quality Android phones with exceptionally good GPS sensors:

Samsung Galaxy Tab, Google Nexus S, HTC Nexus One, HTC Desire, Sony Ericsson X8, Sony Ericsson X10i. See Post “Supported Smartphones”.

If your Android smartphone is not on this list and you absolutely want to try Wikitude Drive, please proceed as follows: Download Wikitude Drive, launch it, enter any destination address, and then, if the route has been loaded, select “ Menu -> demo ride, and you will see an animated demo ride. If the demo looks good, then your phone seems to meet most of Wikitude Drive hardware requirements. If not, you can cancel your purchase within 15 minutes. Note: Some Android devices have GPS sensors that don’t meet the accuracy standards of Wikitude Drive: This is the case if you’re experiencing multiple multiple re-routes while driving with Wikitude Drive. If this happens with your device while driving with Wikitude Drive, you can send an email to drive[at]wikitude.org drive and we will cancel your purchase.

Where do I get Wikitude Drive?

Wikitude Drive is available in the Android Market in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and UK.

Which car holder do you recommend?

A car holder is an absolute necessity for Wikitude Drive, unless you are using it for pedestrian navigation. Make sure the camera has a free view. Sometimes it is necessary to drill a whole for the camera.

Wikitude Drive Success Story

Below you find a quick summary of the Wikitude Drive success story. Happy reading! Cheers.

August 2009: We posted a movie of our first prototype and trigger unintentionally a huge PR wave: The video appeared in major blogs and was viewed 150.000 times that first weekend.

September 2009: At the 2nd Google Android Developer Challenge Wikitude Drive was a top 20 finalist. Unfortunately the routing server crashed within the final jury testing round. However the version from that time was miles away from what you see today.

February 2010: Wikitude Drive wins the Grand Prize at Navteq Challenge 2010 EMEA at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and a check valued 500.000€ in license fees and cash as “most innovative navigation solution in Europe, Middle East and Africa”. The news of Wikitude Drive winning the award was displayed on the Reuters Newswire on Time Square in New York as well as on the Clear Channel Sign in Las Vegas. More on “Wikitude wins the Navteq Challenge 2010!“.  The Insider Story can be read at “Winning the Navteq Challenge 2010 Grand Prize with Wikitude Drive – The Inside Story“.

Mai 20, 2010: We launched a major test drive during Google I/O 2010 and send 3000 test drivers out onto the road. This day marks the record high number of Website hits on the Wikitude site. After 2 hours our server broke down. More here: Wikitude Drive Google I/O Update: Test Drivers Wanted

September 20: 2010: Wikitude Drive won the global competition of the Navteq Challenge in Madrid and is crowned Navteq Global Champion 2010. As the Navteq Challenge 2010 EMEA winners, Wikitude Head of Innovation Andi Hauser, Lead Developer Sebastian Höbarth and me competed against the regional winners India, Asia, North Amerika and South Amerika. We were able to convince a top-class jury and won the global competition as well: See “Wikitude Drive Crowned 2010 NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge® CHAMPION“.

October 18, 2010: Wikitude Drive won the European Satellite Navigation Competition and the GSA Special Topic Prize in the residence of Munich. See “Wikitude Drive gewinnt den Hauptpreis der European Satellite Navigation Competition Galileo Master 2010“.

November 24, 2010: Wikitude Drive wins Hagenberg Award.

Dezember 6, 2010: Wikitude Drive and the Wikitude World Browser won the World Summit Award in Abu Dhabi. See “Wikitude wins World Summit Award“.

Dezember 20, 2010: Wikitude Drive went live in Austria (T-Mobile), Germany and Switzerland.

May 25, 2011: Latest News – Wikitude Drive went live in UK, France, Italy, and Spain!!!

OpenGL >= 1.1, Android 2.1 oder 2.2, 700Mhz or more

Due to the high system requirements of Wikitude Drive, every model of Android smartphone/tablet must be individually tested to assure ultimate performance. The following smartphones/tablets have already been successfully tested:

Wikitude Drive on a Samsung Galaxy Tab

Samsung Galaxy Tab: Needless to say, the design of the Samsung Galaxy Tab excites interest wherever you take it. Whether you’re using it in the airport, elevator, or at a conference, both men and women want to take a look. But what’s inside is also trendsetting. Before I ever held a Galaxy Tab, I honestly had no idea why such a device should ever be used. Now it’s as plain as day: These devices were designed more for data consumption than for data production. Since most people surely download more than upload, this device just makes sense. Additionally, navigation is especially interesting on this device type. The 7-inch display is especially suited for Augmented Reality. Preliminary tests after the launch show that the Galaxy Tab is highly popular with Wikitude Drive drivers.

We took the Samsung Galaxy Tab to the ultimate road test with Wikitude Drive: Snow and ice were no hindrance to a safe trip home. The high-performance display was extremely sharp, but a car mount is a must. We haven’t tested any mounts yet, so if you have a tip for a good one for the Galaxy Tab, please let us know: drive[at]wikitude.org. See Siehe Samsung Galaxy Tab on Amazon.

Wikitude Drive on a Sony X8 Xperia

The Sony Xperia X8 is the smallest smartphone I have ever held. It combines the advantages of small cell phones and smartphones. I was actually quite taken with the device. Wikitude Drive functioned perfectly on the Sony Xperia X8. The small display is more than sufficient to accommodate all information for navigation. See See Sony X8 Xperia on Amazon.

Wikitude Drive on HTC Desire

The HTC Desire is a stylish Android smartphone that resembles the Nexus One. It comes with Android 2.1, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a large AMOLED display, and a special sense button below in the middle that allows for easy scrolling without having to touch the screen. The 5-megapixel autofocus camera with flash is especially worth mentioning.
Wikitude Drive runs perfectly on this smartphone. Nothing more needs to be said. HTC Desire on Amazon.

Wikitude Drive on Nexus One

The Nexus One was the model of smartphone used by the developer during the entire development of Wikitude Drive. Because of this, Wikitude Drive is particularly tailored to the Nexus One. There are really only good things to say about the Nexus One: About a year ago, this smartphone was the ultimate benchmark. It’s been overrun by the competition in the meantime, but it’s still a great smartphone. See Nexus One on Amazon.

Wikitude Drive on an LG Optimus

LG Optimus was also used during the development of Wikitude Drive and was therefore extensively tested. See “LG Ultimate Road Test“. The LG GT540 Optimus comes with a touch screen, the Android OS and numerous clients for familiar social networks. On top of that, LG implemented its Social Network Manager, making Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks easier and faster to use. If your LP Optimus still runs with Android 1.6, it must first be upgraded to at least Android 2.1. Wikitude Drive runs very well on the LG Optimus: The first true Wikitude Drive YouTube film “Wikitude Drive – the World’s First AR Navigation for Smartphones” was made exclusively using the LG Optimus. See LG GT540 Optimus Smartphone on Amazon.

The complete list of supported smartphones is: Samsung Galaxy Tab, Google Nexus S, HTC Nexus One, HTC Desire, LG Optimus 2x, LG Optimus 3D, Sony Ericsson X8, Sony Ericsson X10i.

Handset Manufacturers: Please don’t hesitate to send us your smartphones/tablets for testing and inclusion on this list. Please use the following address: Mobilizy GmbH, Attn: “Wikitude Drive, Device Tests”, Ginzkeyplatz 11, 5020 Salzburg, Österreich.