This document introduces important concepts behind the Google navigation experience provided by the Navigation SDK for Android. When you develop an app using the Navigation SDK, you provide navigation as an enhancement to your app so that your users have the benefit of Google-quality navigation integrated with your own use case.
What is the Google navigation experience?
The usage flow for apps that use Navigation SDK follow a standard pattern with calls to the Navigation SDK that start, run, and stop navigation. During active navigation, your app uses Google-provided UI elements. This means that your users get Google-provided visuals and you do not need to build the navigation experience from scratch. The list below summarizes.
Start navigation—you provide. To start navigation, your app creates a navigator instance. From there, it sets the destination for the navigator and initializes a map. Finally, the app initiates the turn-by-turn guidance. This app flow can be presented to the user in a variety of ways depending on your use case. For example, the app might have a store locator with its own UI elements that users can use to begin navigation to the store. Or, your app might begin active navigation upon the driver accepting a delivery task with a predefined location.
Active navigation—Google-provided UI. Once your app enters active navigation, it uses the device location to maintain active guidance. You configure event listeners meaningful to your use case, such as for route changes and remaining time to the destination. This all influences the Navigation SDK UI components, which are similar to those in the consumer version of Google Maps mobile. For example, your users will see a standard Google maps layer, with visuals like turn guidance cards, traffic layers, alternative routes and speed limits.
Stop navigation—you provide. Your app should terminate navigation in the way that best works for your situation, such as with an arrival listener that triggers when the user reaches the destination, which terminates the navigation session.
How can you modify the navigation experience?
In general, you can modify the active navigation experience to have different color schemes, camera views, extra turn guidance, and event response triggers. The following list describes some of the adjustments you can make. This list is not exhaustive.
| Modification | Details |
|---|---|
| Modified navigation guidance: show/hide headers, colors and fonts, directions, alternative routes, and trip progress |
Map
UI controls Customize the navigation header Display directions list Hide alternative routes Display trip progress |
| Adjust traffic information and speed limit information |
Turn
off traffic layer Enable traffic lights and stop signs Display the speedometer |
| Change the map experience UI and adjust the camera. |
Add
custom markers Floating text Set night mode Adjust the camera |