Navigation apps are now not just a part of everyday life, helping people get from point A to point B, but also a growing market that generated $16.2 billion in revenue in 2022, and is now spurred by the introduction of additional features and ads. Among the fundamentals that the entire technology is based upon are two notions: waypoints and geocoding. In this article, we provide a brief overview of how they work together.
What is a Waypoint?
Suppose you need to travel through a busy cityscape from your house to the airport, while picking up some groceries along the way. On a map, your route will look like a curve that connects two nodes (home and airport), while passing through a third node (grocery store). Each of these nodes will have its own coordinates that an app will use like humans use addresses. Essentially, these nodes are waypoints.
A waypoint is a location that is marked along a route to help optimize navigating through locations. Importantly, a waypoint is not just an address tied to a certain street, but rather any point: a landmark, intersection, or just a spot in the middle of a field. The way they are used as reference points by GPS systems, they are just sets of coordinates that identify locations geometrically.
This makes them important to determine direction, distance, and estimated time of arrival – it’s more precise than calculating these things when your reference “point” is a vague description like “near the airport”.
Types of Waypoints
Based on how waypoints are created and for what purpose, there are several types of these “nodes”:
- Manual – These are the ones you as a user can define on the map or using an address.
- Automated – Some apps generate waypoints automatically based on traffic conditions, terrain, or predefined routes – e.g. if the system “sees” that a certain stretch of a street is congested, it will set up a waypoint to lead you away and bypass it.
- Geographic – These waypoints are based on natural or man-made landmarks, such as mountains, bridges, or intersections, helping travelers orient themselves.
- Virtual – In aviation and marine comunications, waypoints are less tied to specific landmarks and are essentially just coordinates that mark a place somewhere in the middle of a sea or above land.
Formats and Information Stored in a Waypoint
Waypoints are stored in various formats depending on the navigation system or mapping application being used. Some common waypoint file formats include:
- GPX (GPS Exchange Format) – A widely used format for storing waypoint data, routes, and tracks in a structured XML file.
- KML (Keyhole Markup Language) – A format used by Google Earth and Google Maps to store geographic data, including waypoints and routes.
- CSV (Comma-Separated Values) – A simple text format that lists waypoint coordinates and related information, often used for data imports and exports.
Each waypoint typically contains the following pieces of information:
- Latitude and longitude – The precise geographic coordinates of the waypoint.
- Altitude – Elevation above sea level, useful in aviation and hiking.
- Timestamp – The time when the waypoint was recorded or created.
- Name/label – A user-defined or system-generated name for easy identification.
- Description – Additional details about the waypoint, such as its significance or usage.
- Icon – A graphical representation of the waypoint type, like a flag for checkpoints or a house for home locations.
What is Geocoding?
We humans tend to define locations in terms of significant landmarks or house numbers, like “103 This-and-That Street” – but this comes with disadvantages. In fact, nearly everyone who’s ever taken a taxi is aware of that. If your target address happens to be a theater or a railway station, the possible points corresponding to that legal address could be anywhere within a 500-meter radius, from the front entrance to the nearest parking lot or supermarket.
And what matters here is that some of these locations will be easily accessed via very different routes. This is why there is a need to establish links between human-readable addresses and mathematical, coordinate based ones.
Geocoding is the practice of converting between addresses and coordinates (i.e. latitude and longitude) that allows to mark points that are relevant. In other words, you end up not just within a certain radius from the railway station or opera house, but at the necessary spot where you won’t have to spend another hour to walk around the whole thing.
Conversely, reverse geocoding is when coordinates are the input, and the program finds the nearest legal address (or human-defined landmark) corresponding to it.
Popular geocoding services
Several mapping and location-based service providers offer geocoding APIs that developers can integrate into applications. Some widely used options include:
- Google Maps Geocoding API – A robust and widely used service that provides high-accuracy geocoding and reverse geocoding.
- OpenStreetMap Nominatim – A free, open-source alternative that uses OpenStreetMap data for geocoding.
- Mapbox Geocoding API – A flexible geocoding service often used for custom mapping applications.
- OpenCage Geocoder – Another open-source geocoding service that aggregates data from multiple sources for improved accuracy.
How waypoints and geocoding work together
Navigation apps function seamlessly thanks to the combination of geocoding and waypoints, ensuring accurate route generation. These two technologies work in a sequence to help users get from point A to point B efficiently. Here’s how that works in a typical case:
- When a user enters a destination (e.g., “1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View”), the system needs to translate this into a location that the engine can understand.
- The geocoding system processes the address and returns a precise latitude and longitude.
- The system assigns this combination of coordinates as a waypoint in the route plan, marking a point.
- The system processes the waypoints and calculates the best possible route, considering real-time traffic, road conditions, and transportation modes.
By combining waypoints and geocoding, routing apps can:
- Determine efficient paths by mapping the shortest or fastest route.
- Provide turn-by-turn directions using waypoints as key markers.
- Optimize delivery and travel routes by ensuring smooth transitions between multiple stops.
Where is waypoint navigation used?
In reality, waypoints are essential for multiple industries and applications – it is the basis for optimizing routes and improving efficiency, which are a key factor in many areas. But here are some of the most typical areas of application:
1. GPS apps
Popular mapping services like Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Waze rely on waypoints and geocoding to provide accurate directions. When a user enters an address, geocoding converts it into coordinates, and the app sets waypoints along the best route to guide the user with turn-by-turn navigation.
2. Ride-sharing and taxi services
Apps like Uber, Lyft, and Bolt use waypoints and geocoding to match drivers with passengers, calculate fares, and generate optimal routes. The system geocodes pickup and drop-off locations and places waypoints to guide drivers efficiently.
3. Logistics and delivery services
Companies like Amazon, FedEx, and UPS use waypoints and geocoding to streamline package deliveries. Delivery vehicles follow a calculated route with multiple waypoints to ensure fast and efficient deliveries.
4. Emergency and public safety services
Emergency response teams, such as ambulances, police, and fire departments, depend on waypoints and geocoding to reach locations quickly. Dispatch centers use geocoding to find the caller’s exact coordinates, and waypoints help responders navigate through traffic efficiently.
Conclusions
Whether it’s a GPS app helping users find the fastest way home, a delivery service optimizing multi-stop routes, or an emergency responder reaching a critical location, these technologies play a vital role in everyday life. As software systems continue to evolve, advancements in geocoding accuracy and waypoint-based routing will further enhance efficiency and user experience.
If you’re looking to develop a navigation-based solution or enhance an existing system with precise location intelligence, investing in high-quality geocoding and waypoint management is key. Contact us today to explore tailored solutions that fit your needs.
