Hitting a dead end is the last thing you need while hiking solo up a long trail. Left alone with just the voice of a navigational system–losing your direction–frustration could ruin your desire to continue on your journey. University students, Vincent Löffler and Adam Snook aim to keep your travel efforts alive with AnyWay, a crowdsourced navigational app would put travel directions in the hands of the community.
Löffler, founder of AnyWay, is a German student at the International University of Applied Sciences (IUBH). He and co-founder Snook, a student at the University of the West of England, have taken to Indiegogo in hopes of raising $10,000 to fund their project.
With AnyWay, users can help each other discover and arrive at destinations they wish to travel to. Hikers and cyclists can share the directions and routes they know best by editing maps on AnyWay’s web app.
Real-time travel info will allow users to alert the community of road closings, accidents and other hazards. If a user is in a city or town during an event such as a festival or carnival, an icon will appear on the map offering directions and additional information. For those who travel in groups, AnyWay’s tracking feature will keep tabs on everyone for you. If a person in the group gets lost, the app will offer directions to reunite the missing traveler with their party.
AnyWay will also allow business owners to add information to the map. Restaurants and cafe owners in the app community will be able to add their venue’s location to the app including menus and pricing.
Whether it’s a hiking trip in the Poconos, cycling through Europe or even a subway ride to a music venue in New York City, AnyWay plans to make your trip safe and worthwhile. Löffler and Snook plan to begin developing AnyWay in July of this year. You can contribute to their campaign here, and fill out the AnyWay survey to help aid in future app development.
