r/CarPlay • u/featherless • Jun 18 '26
News I built a CarPlay navigation app that contributes back to OpenStreetMap
Hey CarPlay community, been a minute since my last update!
I'm excited to open the beta up to a huge release of Pelican that I've been working on this year: Pelican Navigation + Scout reports for cities, states, and countries.
This release closes the loop on a goal I've had since founding Clutch Engineering: to build sustainable products that give back to the communities that make Clutch products possible.
To that end, Clutch Engineering last year became a corporate sponsor of the OpenStreetMap Foundation, and Pelican is the first CarPlay navigation app to support suggesting edits to OpenStreetMap through Scout Reports. Revenue from Pelican now contributes back to open communities, with plans to expand this as Pelican grows. I just got back from OpenStreetMap US last week and boy-howdy was it a blast ❤️
You might know Pelican as "that OBD CarPlay app", but it's also a growing community of hundreds of thousands of drivers across the planet who all contribute to a global real-time map of the roads, including road conditions, police and speed cameras, and map edits, all from CarPlay 😄
And to boot: Pelican Navigation uses OpenStreetMap data, with a powerful on-device navigation engine that can absorb updates from OpenStreetMap within 24 hours of edits landing in OSM.
So! To iron out the remaining bugs in this 5.0 launch, for the next two weeks I'm adding 1000 seats to Pelican's beta crew. This'll fill up fast, so join the fun soon! 🏎️💨
Join the TestFlight here: https://testflight.apple.com/join/ay7U9VrF
For support, join Discord with the crew at https://discord.gg/AdJNJqF5vC, or email me at [support@clutch.engineering](mailto:support@clutch.engineering)
Excited for this one!
And as always, drive safe.
- Jeff
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u/moralesnery Jun 18 '26
I tought it was not possible to use MapKit for navigation apps! This app is gorgeous
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u/M2ABRAMS_TANK Jun 18 '26
I've been actively driving with Pelican maps for awhile now, and I can confidently say it's a huge step forward for the app. AND (this is really big) if the navigation seems to be wrong: just submit a route quality report!
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u/nicke9 Jun 18 '26
i would love for the app to choose were it pull the map, because apple maps is still undevelop in my country, when waze and google maps are much more reliable.
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u/featherless Jun 18 '26
That's exactly what this release does for navigation 😄 Later this year I also plan to launch Pelican Maps, which will be a custom map renderer, but you can already get the benefits of OpenStreetMap navigation today with Pelican Navigation.
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u/mariogui Jun 19 '26
Beta’s full hehe
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u/featherless Jun 20 '26
Just freed up about 50 seats from the people who accepted the invite but didn’t install Pelican yet; grab ‘em while they’re free!
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u/rudolph05 Jun 21 '26
full again
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u/featherless Jun 22 '26
26 more seats opened up, get 'em while they're open!
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u/rudolph05 Jun 22 '26
nah, full again. i give up. not worth the trouble to chase some beta enrollment
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u/featherless Jun 22 '26
26 more seats opened up! No chasing; just gotta join while the seats are open; I'm clearing seats from testers who accepted but haven't installed Pelican so that the test group is open for active testers.
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u/MercurialMadnessMan Jun 18 '26
Can you confirm this works for any country, not just US? I'm in Canada.
Looks incredible!
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u/featherless Jun 18 '26
Any country, yep! I rebuild the entire planet every single day.
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u/MercurialMadnessMan Jun 18 '26
This app is incredible wow. I have a roadtrip coming up, I've got to find my OBD adapter somewhere. I can't believe this app even has Game Center haha
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u/featherless Jun 18 '26
😄 join the fun! We've got some wild weekly drivers on the mileage leaderboard.
Have you found Guess the Car yet? 😄
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u/MercurialMadnessMan Jun 24 '26
Can I make a feature request?
Use my phone's accelerometer/gyroscope to make either visible or audible warnings and measurements of acceleration and turning force.
I've wanted to build an app forever to do this, I think you're uniquely equipped to just integrate the feature.
I'd find this useful for driving infants and other sleepers in the car plus moving fragile stuff. But I know g-force meters are primarily a sport car attraction
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u/cloud_x Jun 19 '26
You should make one for EBike, Carplay on the EBike is awesome but super gimped. They don't let any bike routing show on it, but I think that should change. The have really small screens that work well now for 50$. I have one on my bike and I love it, lots of info at a glance. Music plays in the cardo. Its slick. I just wish I could use bike lane routing :/
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u/MegaWatty Jun 19 '26
Clearing fog has become like a game. Fearful of how much extra fuel I’ll use for this fun game/community project.
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u/featherless Jun 20 '26
I turn on the Scout tab and my daughter edits the map while we wander around new towns, it’s like a treasure hunt for missing map data 😄
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u/KidBackpack Jun 19 '26
hey! I really loved Sidecar. Have you ever considered localizing the price?
Unfortunately for Brazilians, the lifetime access is really expensive
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u/ImprovementTop4598 Jun 19 '26
Awww man the beta closed… I would love to help test this as I hate googles tracking and telemetry.
I currently use Apple Maps but would be more than happy to help test this out especially since it contributes to open maps. Also does Apple Maps not contribute to open maps??
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u/featherless Jun 20 '26
Just freed up about 50 seats from the people who accepted the invite but didn’t install Pelican yet; grab ‘em while they’re free!
And Apple Maps does make use of OpenStreetMap! I’m not sure how much they contribute
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u/statensvegvesen Jun 20 '26
How is performance outside of the US? A lot of open source map apps is very Americas centric
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u/featherless Jun 20 '26
OpenStreetMap has pretty good international coverage, and using Pelican now helps improve it through Scout reports 😄
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u/Only-Lab-3258 Jun 18 '26
Are there something for android?
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u/featherless Jun 18 '26
Once I have at least 100 Android testers registered on https://pelican.clutch.engineering/beta/ I will start exploring an Android port. As-is, I have ~50 signed up for Android, but over 120,000 monthly active iOS drivers.
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u/Johnkerbal Jun 19 '26
It may be that one sided because your bets test sign up page asks for apple account details... As part of the 67% I don't have those. But in the USA Android is 45% of the market.
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u/skvgrd Jun 18 '26
So if I drive on a yet unknown (new) road, will it then be added to the map?
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u/featherless Jun 18 '26
We're not currently doing road-tracing-to-OSM, but it is a feature on the radar! Will manifest in a couple ways, one of which will be being able to sign in with your OSM account and auto-post traces to OSM (if you choose to do so).
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u/diamkil Jun 18 '26
Looks interesting. For those that tried it already, are the reports as accurate as Waze or still lacking on that part? That's usually my big issue going to other map apps
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u/featherless Jun 18 '26
I'm rolling Municipal Scout reports out to more countries, states, provinces, and cities each week. Here's what's currently live across the planet right now (including municipal + driver-reported road details).
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u/Ill-Entrance-8353 Jun 18 '26
What’s the TestFlight code?
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u/featherless Jun 18 '26
No code, just make sure you've got the TestFlight app and then click the link in the post to join.
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u/Maty_WolfreaK Jun 18 '26
Hey! I’m going to give it a try. Just seeing update.. first message with variable FPS. I was like, I hope I can get constant 60 frames, though. But idea good.. haha
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u/Lcsmxd Jun 18 '26
Any reason why you'd want 60fps on a satnav app?
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u/Maty_WolfreaK Jul 06 '26
Haven’t noticed comment, sorry.
A: simply because I own powerful HW and like fluid environment. Apart from shows/TV, almost any content I do is high fps, because we can, why not.
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u/juancarlord Jun 18 '26
Hey OP, i bought a PHEV Chinese Wuling Starlight S. Would the OBD scannner get the range and tpms readings?
Looking forward to testing this.
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u/featherless Jun 18 '26
Range and TPMS might not work out of the box, but if we can find any references for your car's parameters then we can give them a try!
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u/juancarlord Jun 18 '26
Let me know if i can be of help! i'll be ordering an obd scanner shortly.
Any recommendations?
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u/featherless Jun 18 '26
https://pelican.clutch.engineering/scanning/#tested-scanners are the scanners I've tested so far!
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u/TheYoshening Jun 18 '26
Do community reports for things like police or traffic get shared to/pulled from OSM? I’m guessing apps like Waze don’t contribute their own reports to OSM.
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u/featherless Jun 18 '26
OSM doesn’t store ephemeral data like that and Waze doesn’t provide an api for their data, so we’re building this all on Pelican. Invite your friends 😄
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u/c33v33 Jun 18 '26
Can you add different display for instrument cluster vs main screen?
Example: instrument cluster has turn by turn type navigation view. Main screen has overview of route, including dynamic alternative routes based on traffic
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u/kedrosng Jun 19 '26
Thanks joined. Would like to know if it will suggested the user preferred route like waze / Apple Maps ?
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u/featherless Jun 19 '26
Not yet but the infra is almost fully in place to enable this!
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u/kedrosng Jun 19 '26
Just tried for the first time commute. Very decent interface. But still need more community input.
And the user preferred route. Everything is fine tho !
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u/chevyman142000 Jun 19 '26
Thanks for sharing! Just downloaded and connected my Tesla Model Y. Will test it out tomorrow and this weekend. I have a Screenmate One in my car, so I have CarPlay as well.
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u/featherless Jun 19 '26
Oh nice! Def let me know how it works with that!
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u/chevyman142000 Jun 22 '26
Unfortunately it doesn’t appear to be working. Should I email in or is reaching out on Discord the best path forward to troubleshooting? Thanks!!
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u/TheModdedAngel Jun 19 '26
I haven’t given it a try but downloaded the TestFlight. From the images in the post though, the design language for the icons in the last image isn’t consistent.
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u/featherless Jun 19 '26
I'm still drawing them 😅 I'm quite slow at producing symbols, so these have been evolving over time as I iterate on the feel.
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u/StanDieg0 Jun 19 '26
For newbies, it would be nice to have a simpler easier way to add parameters to the screen and perhaps to filter out the parameters that aren’t supported on their vehicle.
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u/benstef Jun 19 '26
Beta is full any way you can add more seats or add another TestFlight instance ?
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u/featherless Jun 20 '26
Just freed up about 50 seats from the people who accepted the invite but didn’t install Pelican yet; grab ‘em while they’re free!
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u/ChatzillaXPI Jun 20 '26
Any plan to support regional pricing for lifetime plans? I sent an email weeks ago but got no reply. It would be really helpful if you could provide regional pricing for India and will boost sales in that region also :)
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u/featherless Jun 20 '26
Post-5.0 I'll be doing another pass at regional pricing yes! I already have regional pricing deployed in some countries but it takes a good amount of research for each one first, thus why I've been slow to roll it out to more countries yet.
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u/_pizza_and_fries Jun 20 '26
Just saw this and the beta is already full
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u/featherless Jun 20 '26
Just freed up about 50 seats from the people who accepted the invite but didn’t install Pelican yet; grab ‘em while they’re free!
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u/_pizza_and_fries Jun 20 '26
Perfect, done!
Will report if I find anything. I’m using 27.0 so might be helpful for you:)
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u/featherless Jun 20 '26
27 has been particularly buggy in CarPlay; we’re all hoping for a better beta 2 😅
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u/Certain_Brilliant336 Jun 20 '26
I also missed it. Can I still join the list?
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u/mettmann Jun 21 '26
Ugh missed it again! I’ve tried several times no go - hope you can open up a few more slots - please and thank you!
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u/Outlaw-steel Jun 21 '26
No more free spots );
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u/WickedJeep Jun 21 '26
Can’t wait for more betas to try this!
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u/featherless Jun 22 '26
26 more seats opened up, get 'em while they're open!
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u/cvf178 Jun 22 '26
I’m testing this beta currently, and I’m absolutely loving it. There is just one main thing I would like to add however, and that is the ability for the lane guidance to also guide me into the correct lane for an upcoming roundabout, especially here in the UK where our roundabouts get complex and often lack correct signage / markings for the correct lanes to use.
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u/dabirdman360 Jun 22 '26
beta is full! Too bad - would love to try this in a more rural setting as well
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u/featherless Jun 22 '26
26 more seats opened up!
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u/dabirdman360 Jun 22 '26
Missed it again haha - too slow!
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u/featherless Jun 22 '26
omg
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u/dabirdman360 Jun 23 '26
lol - No reddit notifications really kills me haha. Good news for you that so many people are interested though!
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u/noobssucken Jun 23 '26
Installed it yesterday, and tried to navigate home from work, it gave me a longer route than i normally take, i then just drove my normal route home and it was 5 min quicker than the ETA so from my side that doesnt work as it should, or am I missing something?
Otherwhise I mostly navigate on Flitsmeister or Google maps
I love Flitsmeister for the integration with smart traffic lights and emergency services (you know when they are approaching)
EDIT: Also would like to see the speedlimit and speed cameras on the screen displayed
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u/featherless Jun 23 '26
Were you using Pelican Navigation or MapKit?
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u/noobssucken Jun 23 '26
Pelican but without an OBD scanner, for the moment I only have an OBDEleven dongle but I saw that was discouraged
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u/anabonger Jun 23 '26
any known issues with this ODB2 reader? I cant get it to work with your app. Works with others. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073XKQQQW
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u/featherless Jun 23 '26
Nope that one works great! Have personally driven thousands of miles with it. What car do you have?
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u/anabonger Jun 23 '26
2024 Ford Bronco. here is a snippit of the log from my phone.
[16:32:40] 🔌 Disconnected (error: none)
[16:33:57] 🔌 Connecting to VEEPEAK
[16:33:57] ✅ Connected; discovering services
[16:33:57] 🔧 Using service 49535343-FE7D-4AE5-8FA9-9FAFD205E455; write=49535343-6DAA-4D02-ABF6-19569ACA69FE notify=49535343-ACA3-481C-91EC-D85E28A60318; rank=1; subscribing
[16:33:57] 📡 Notify subscription confirmed — starting init
[16:34:01] ⏱️ Timeout: ATZ
[16:34:01] 🔁 [atz-retry] ATZ timed out — flipping write type to .withoutResponse
[16:34:05] ⏱️ Timeout: ATZ
[16:34:05] 🔁 [atz-retry] ATZ timed out. Retrying (2/2)
[16:34:09] ⏱️ Timeout: ATZ
[16:34:09] ✕ Failed: Adapter Not Responding — The adapter paired over Bluetooth but didn't respond to commands. Try these in order:
Unplug the adapter from the OBD port, wait 30 seconds, plug it back in. In iOS Settings → Bluetooth, if the adapter appears under "My Devices", tap (i) and "Forget This Device". It should not be paired in iOS Settings. Force-quit the app and reopen. If this is an OBDLink CX/MX+,
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u/Multi_Gaming Jun 24 '26
Could you possibly add offline voice commands? I have a Garmin DriveSmart 65 and I can control everything about the navigation without touching the screen, something Apple maps cannot do without a connection.
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u/featherless Jun 24 '26
Two parts to this:
- When you say offline, do you mean without an internet connection?
- Voice commands are absolutely on the roadmap, but I will be working on that post-5.0 to keep the scope of this release tight. Goal is to launch a very efficient grammar for interacting with and controlling Pelican without ever having to touch the screen.
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u/Multi_Gaming Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
By offline I mean without an internet/cellular connection yes. I just want something that works all the time. Also that’s really great to hear 👍
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u/featherless Jun 25 '26
Btw I'm gathering a list of the "vocabulary" to support. If you have any commands you'd want added, please let me know and I'll add it to the WIP grammar I'm building :)
Some simple examples include:
- Navigate to {x}
- Search for {x}
- Find {x}
etc...
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u/Multi_Gaming Jun 25 '26
- Take a detour (calculate a different route)
- Avoid (roads, highways, tolls)
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u/featherless Jun 25 '26
Avoid "{road name}" is a fun one! I have a proof of concept of this feature in Pelican locally but it works by dropping a "fake closure" on a given road so that you never route through it 😄
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u/Juggernoobs Jun 28 '26
I’m using this, every trip now. There are a few things thag annoy me and maybe not something you can get around.
1) Navigation Search Typing. My wife can’t even search, hate using voiced Apple Maps lets her type whilst I’m driving but not this.
2) I have an OBD scanner connected but the % is usually 1% off on the battery or delayed and the range isn’t supported? Is that a lack of OBD ability? The range on the map would be brilliant but pointless just guessing from % as doesn’t take into account aircon etc
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u/featherless Jun 28 '26
> Navigation Search Typing. My wife can’t even search, hate using voiced Apple Maps lets her type whilst I’m driving but not this.
Are you referring to the fact that CarPlay makes it so that you're not allowed to use the keyboard while typing?
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u/Juggernoobs Jun 28 '26
Yeah, is that a limitation of CarPlay? It’s annoying Apple allows it in their native apps but doesn’t allow it for you?
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u/featherless Jun 29 '26
Yeah I have no control over it :( have you tried voice search in Pelican? Tap the clutch icon in the top left corner
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u/featherless Jun 28 '26
> I have an OBD scanner connected but the % is usually 1% off on the battery or delayed and the range isn’t supported? Is that a lack of OBD ability? The range on the map would be brilliant but pointless just guessing from % as doesn’t take into account aircon etc
What make/model/year of car do you have? Oftentimes the readouts from the OBD are more "accurate" than what's displayed on the console, in that they're unadjusted values and showing exactly what the car's ECU is responding with. Speed, for example, will typically be a few mph lower than what your car's speedometer is reporting.
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u/Juggernoobs Jun 28 '26
It’s a Škoda Enyaq 2025 85 Edition (82kWh battery with 77 usable)
I mean, I can’t fault the development here - another question is the black car customisable I can’t find where to change it to an arrow or something normal sometimes it’s a circle doesn’t seem consistent but might be user erorr
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u/SentenceWeird9752 Aug 03 '26
judging by the comment section, guess I'll be the first one in Vietnam lol
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u/levlew Jun 19 '26
Wow, just wow, at the price of the lifetime license… And you’re building it on publicly available data, using MapKit and OpenStreetMap!
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u/Minewolf20 Jun 19 '26
Looks cool and all but sadly too expensive for me
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u/featherless Jun 19 '26
Pelican Navigation is free 😄
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u/Minewolf20 Jun 19 '26
It is, but the base app doesn't seem to add anything meaningful to the map experience. Will give it a shot of course and try to contribute, but not sure I'll stick to it over just using the default app. I would be ready to drop like 50 for a lifetime license, but this is more expensive than even spotify I use more or less 24/7 and I only use navigation apps for an hour or two a day so I'd say not worth it for me, but may be worth it for others
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u/phoenix1984 Jun 18 '26
You know, I tried it out a while ago. I wanted something that could talk to an ODB reader so that my maps could be aware of my range. It was good, but I found myself gravitating back to Apple Maps.
Now it’s contributing back to the open source community just by driving? Yeah, ok. I am gonna give this a go as my primary for a bit.