Weird Routing Behaviour (3) - Not the Repeated U Turn stuff.
Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2023 3:49 pm
I've been doing some route observations for a couple of videos - this for a presentation that I am doing in February.
It wasn't my intention, but I captured soemthing on the video which I had observed a few times, but for which I had no evidence.
I wish that I hadn't described the earlier phenomenon as RUT behaviour - because that is just one symptom of what is going on.
One of my first thoughts when I cam across it was that in the same circumstances, routes were behaving in exactly the same way as track-trips ie tracks that have been converted to trips. I once played with these, and they are really quite useful - unless you have to go in completely the oppositie direction. In that case, the navigation gets stuck in the same RUT loop. Taking you back. But where to? Well to the place that it last asked you to turn back - which is immediately behind you.
But that too is not correct. If you tell it to not allow U turns, then both routes and track-trips will reveal that they are actually trying to find a way back to the unaltered route. To find the Closest Point. As soon as you get close enough to any point on the magenta line, it will head for that. Allowing U-turns alway puts that point just behind you. Not allowing U-turns makes it look much further ahead.
It seems that pressing skip and then deviating from the route is not necessary to trigger odd behaviour. Simpy pressing skip changes the nature of the route. It is just that you don't notice it until you deviate from the route.
So here are a couple of observed and recorded example of different things happening on the same route, after pressing Skip.
Here is the test route: (Click to see a larger image)
I stopped just ahead of the white rouandabout - after 03 Via Pt and before 04 Shaping Point. I needed to Skip the 03 Via Point which I had not visited, and to which the XT was still trying to get me to turn round and visit. After skipping the route was still plotted ahead at the roundabout (2nd exit) to take me to 04 Shaping Point.
I set off again to the roundabout and took the third exit, rather than the 2nd - which was the way that the route was originally plotted. As soon as I took the third exit, the route recalculated to find a new way to get me to Shaping Point 04. This is shown on the screen shot taken from the video recording. (Click to see a larger image)
This clearly shows the way ahead and after a mile doubling back to visit shaping point 04. Up ahead, just after the junction is shaping point 05. I ignored the demand to turn left to visit shaping point 05 and the XT calcuated the way ahead on the originally plotted route - not minding that I had missed point 04.
This is exactly how it should be. And is exactly how the 590 and 595 would have behaved.
This was a Saved route
2nd test with an imported route, exactly as transferred from Basecamp.
More or less the same thing happened, and I stopped to Skip 03 Via Point in the same place - just before the white roundabout. After skipping the route was still plotted ahead at the roundabout (2nd exit) to take me to 04 Shaping Point.
I then set off again.
This is the screen shot just after taking the third exit fromt he roundabout, having ignored the satnav which was directing me to take the second exit. (Click to see a larger image)
Note that 04 Shaping Point has disappeared. The route is plotted ahead to visit 05 Shaping Point and continues to the right turn for 06 Via Point. When I passed 05 Shaping Point, the Zumo changed the shading of the magenta line to indicate that I had entered the next section. But shaping point 04 had gone, it had been removed from the route.
My interpretation of this is that having got lost, it was now heading for the closest entry point. The route just ahead of 05 Shaping Point is probably the closest - and as we know, any route points before the closest entry point are ignored.
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Summary observations comparing the two routes.
Prompts to Skip the Missed Via Point
After 03, the saved route would make 2 U turn requests and then pop up a window asking if I wanted to skip. It did this 3 times before I pulled off. to skip Via Point 3. The imported route did not issue any prompts to skip the Via Point.
Missed Shaping Point
Missed shaping point at 02 was handled the same for both types of route.
Missed point 04 was handled 'properly' by the Saved Route (ie as the 590/595), by finding another way to visit it, and only ignoring it once the magenta route ahd been rejoined - before 05 Shaping Point.
Missed Point 04 was wiped out completely. As if I had stopped by the roadside and selected 'Closest Entry Point'.
Missing 06 Via Point
Unseen - 06 Via Point is off road. There is no way to get to it.
Saved Route repeatedly demanded U turns after I had gone past it. When I turned round and went passed it again, it continued to do this. It kept asking me to turn round and go back until I got home again.
Imported Route. Allowed me to drive straight past, and just as if it had been a shaping point allowed me to continue ahead to the finish point.
This behaviour is inconsistent with how it behaved at Via Point 3, which was also off route. (Although 06 was closer). But I had pressed skip after not visiting 03 Via Point.
Very curious. It seems to be making a sensible decision - if you are wanting to take main roads and your route point is just off the main road. But if that shaping point was deliberately placed to take you on a scenic detour, and you happened to miss the turning, or the road to take was blocked - it would not find another. Would it then take you along the main road to join the route further ahead. This suggest that it would. Whatever - it seems that it would alter the route.
It wasn't my intention, but I captured soemthing on the video which I had observed a few times, but for which I had no evidence.
I wish that I hadn't described the earlier phenomenon as RUT behaviour - because that is just one symptom of what is going on.
One of my first thoughts when I cam across it was that in the same circumstances, routes were behaving in exactly the same way as track-trips ie tracks that have been converted to trips. I once played with these, and they are really quite useful - unless you have to go in completely the oppositie direction. In that case, the navigation gets stuck in the same RUT loop. Taking you back. But where to? Well to the place that it last asked you to turn back - which is immediately behind you.
But that too is not correct. If you tell it to not allow U turns, then both routes and track-trips will reveal that they are actually trying to find a way back to the unaltered route. To find the Closest Point. As soon as you get close enough to any point on the magenta line, it will head for that. Allowing U-turns alway puts that point just behind you. Not allowing U-turns makes it look much further ahead.
It seems that pressing skip and then deviating from the route is not necessary to trigger odd behaviour. Simpy pressing skip changes the nature of the route. It is just that you don't notice it until you deviate from the route.
So here are a couple of observed and recorded example of different things happening on the same route, after pressing Skip.
Here is the test route: (Click to see a larger image)
I stopped just ahead of the white rouandabout - after 03 Via Pt and before 04 Shaping Point. I needed to Skip the 03 Via Point which I had not visited, and to which the XT was still trying to get me to turn round and visit. After skipping the route was still plotted ahead at the roundabout (2nd exit) to take me to 04 Shaping Point.
I set off again to the roundabout and took the third exit, rather than the 2nd - which was the way that the route was originally plotted. As soon as I took the third exit, the route recalculated to find a new way to get me to Shaping Point 04. This is shown on the screen shot taken from the video recording. (Click to see a larger image)
This clearly shows the way ahead and after a mile doubling back to visit shaping point 04. Up ahead, just after the junction is shaping point 05. I ignored the demand to turn left to visit shaping point 05 and the XT calcuated the way ahead on the originally plotted route - not minding that I had missed point 04.
This is exactly how it should be. And is exactly how the 590 and 595 would have behaved.
This was a Saved route
2nd test with an imported route, exactly as transferred from Basecamp.
More or less the same thing happened, and I stopped to Skip 03 Via Point in the same place - just before the white roundabout. After skipping the route was still plotted ahead at the roundabout (2nd exit) to take me to 04 Shaping Point.
I then set off again.
This is the screen shot just after taking the third exit fromt he roundabout, having ignored the satnav which was directing me to take the second exit. (Click to see a larger image)
Note that 04 Shaping Point has disappeared. The route is plotted ahead to visit 05 Shaping Point and continues to the right turn for 06 Via Point. When I passed 05 Shaping Point, the Zumo changed the shading of the magenta line to indicate that I had entered the next section. But shaping point 04 had gone, it had been removed from the route.
My interpretation of this is that having got lost, it was now heading for the closest entry point. The route just ahead of 05 Shaping Point is probably the closest - and as we know, any route points before the closest entry point are ignored.
-------------------
Summary observations comparing the two routes.
Prompts to Skip the Missed Via Point
After 03, the saved route would make 2 U turn requests and then pop up a window asking if I wanted to skip. It did this 3 times before I pulled off. to skip Via Point 3. The imported route did not issue any prompts to skip the Via Point.
Missed Shaping Point
Missed shaping point at 02 was handled the same for both types of route.
Missed point 04 was handled 'properly' by the Saved Route (ie as the 590/595), by finding another way to visit it, and only ignoring it once the magenta route ahd been rejoined - before 05 Shaping Point.
Missed Point 04 was wiped out completely. As if I had stopped by the roadside and selected 'Closest Entry Point'.
Missing 06 Via Point
Unseen - 06 Via Point is off road. There is no way to get to it.
Saved Route repeatedly demanded U turns after I had gone past it. When I turned round and went passed it again, it continued to do this. It kept asking me to turn round and go back until I got home again.
Imported Route. Allowed me to drive straight past, and just as if it had been a shaping point allowed me to continue ahead to the finish point.
This behaviour is inconsistent with how it behaved at Via Point 3, which was also off route. (Although 06 was closer). But I had pressed skip after not visiting 03 Via Point.
Very curious. It seems to be making a sensible decision - if you are wanting to take main roads and your route point is just off the main road. But if that shaping point was deliberately placed to take you on a scenic detour, and you happened to miss the turning, or the road to take was blocked - it would not find another. Would it then take you along the main road to join the route further ahead. This suggest that it would. Whatever - it seems that it would alter the route.