Things to come
What changes await the walking world in 2019? The Ordnance Survey had a think – and CW was there to listen…
ACCORDING TO Back to the Future, by now we should have flying cars and holographic cinemas. Sadly the pace of evolution is a little slower than that – but not much. The walking world is no stranger to the march of technology; from route planning to viewfinding to the way we shop for gear, our strange sphere is evolving all the time. With a new year on the doorstep, Ordnance Survey have been pondering what’s to come. Nick Giles, Managing Director of OS’s leisure division, is your Nostradamus. Here’s what he foresees…
ACTION ON INACTION
“The biggest context at this moment is the epidemic of inactivity. The Chief Medical Officer recommends 150 minutes of heartrateincreasing activity per week, but one in four people can only manage 30 minutes or less. The cost to the NHS of treating the consequent problems – obesity, depression, heart problems etc – is around £7.4 billion a year, according to Public Health England. “As a nation, we are 20% less active than we were in the 1960s, and that figure is likely to double in the years ahead unless we take action now. “For OS, that means we need to offer new products, services and campaigns which show that the outdoors can be enjoyable, accessible and safe. By doing that, we can help people live longer, keep feeling younger and enjoy life more.”
BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES
“In 2015, OS launched #GetOutside [ as a way to help more people get active, by suggesting all sorts of ways in which you can engage with the outdoors. Next year that will develop even further. We particularly want to find ways to engage with black, Asian and ethnic minority communities. A study called Healthy London found that the average roaming distance of a Muslim woman in Tower Hamlets could be as little as 500 metres. We’ve surely got to find ways to improve situations like that.”
AUGMENTED REALITY
“A few years ago, Pokémon
Go [an interactive ‘hunt’ for anime beasties, powered by augmented reality on smartphone] had a huge impact in getting children active outdoors. Next year you’ll see some new adaptations of that technology – including a Harry Potter version called Wizards Unite, which I think will be huge.
“Augmented reality will continue to help demystify mapping. Our fly-through, aerial 3D and tabletop functions show people how the map translates to the real world. They bring the landscape to life and empower people to plan, view and tweak their walks.
“The ‘snap’ function [which automatically aligns any route you are plotting with the most viable footpath] has been hugely popular but presently it’s only available in national parks; next year we plan to expand it.
“We also want to finesse the augmented reality function so that not only does it identify the summits around you, but it can route you to them with one tap.”
THE URBAN OUTDOORS
“In 2019, London is set to become our first National
Park City [ www.national
parkcity.london]. As strong supporters of the campaign, we’ve created a definitive green-space map of the city. An astonishing 47% of London is green space. Our mapping now highlights where that space is, plus accessibility points and corridors like canal towpaths that can help you link it all together. Manchester and Birmingham are looking into the same idea, and I very much hope that other cities
“We spend twice as long on the toilet in the UK than we spend doing physical activity.” PROF GINA RADFORD, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England
will follow suit. In many ways, it’s about taking technology that has been used to manage the countryside and adapting it for cities – and vice versa, particularly when it comes to transport. In the Lake District, they have been giving some thought to using driverless pods to ease congestion and pollution. It’s theoretical at the moment, but that’s a really imaginative leap to take.”
SHOPPING BECOMES THEATRE
“Clearly high street stores face some colossal challenges. Outdoor stores are looking at experiences you can create within the store that add value, and create a new reason to go into the store: specialist fitting services; talks and events; breakout areas with maps and books that you can use to plan your walks. Demonstrations – almost theatre – that can do everything from demystifying gear to inspiring someone to climb their first mountain.
“Again, OS needs to play a part in that. We’re aware it can be daunting to walk into an outdoor shop looking for a map and being confronted with a wall of pink and orange. But set up a table that can show how a map works and what it can do for you – including our tabletop 3D view, for example – and instantly it becomes more attractive as a proposition.
“So gear shops will start to become more like community hubs for outdoor enthusiasts, rather than just places where transactions happen.”
EVERYONE’S A STORYTELLER
“It will get easier to share images, route maps, experiences; to record your mileage or
your altitude; and to create communities: to set up plans for a walking trip and share it with a group, so everyone knows what the plan is and can contribute to it.”
…BUT PAPER STAYS PUT
“None of these new concepts will supersede the OS paper
map; they literally ‘augment’ it. The digital downloads that come with each paper map have been hugely successful. But having the two in tandem gives you the joy and reliability of plotting, planning and checking your route on paper, and the reassurance of having it on your device ready for instant support when you need it.
“People want technology to enhance the experience, not become the experience. We won’t forget that.”