Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Yandex Maps and Yandex Navigator have started offering personalised routes based on individual driver habits.
When planning a journey, the services now analyse a user’s travel history and suggest the most suitable road options, ranging from the fastest route to a familiar or simpler one.
The new feature is designed to make navigation more convenient for both new and experienced drivers.
Drivers who have recently started driving can choose less complicated routes with fewer interchanges and manoeuvres, while experienced users can stick to roads they are familiar with.
Route personalisation is powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. The ML model analyses route options calculated by the navigation engine, along with aggregated data on the user’s behaviour during trips.
In particular, the system takes into account how often a driver deviates from the suggested route, which road options are selected most frequently and the distances typically travelled.
Depending on traffic conditions and the specifics of a particular journey, the services can offer more than 10 types of routes.
For example, if the standard option includes a large number of complex interchanges, intersections or U-turns, the driver may be offered a “Simple” route. For regular journeys, such as between home and work, a “Familiar” option is available to help users follow their usual route.
When travelling through a city, users may have access to “Through the Centre” and “Bypass” options. If time is the main priority, the system will offer a “Fast” route with the shortest travel time. The “Short” option focuses on minimising distance, while the “Optimal” route takes several factors into account, including travel time, distance and traffic conditions.
When roads are clear, the service may also offer a “No Traffic” route to help avoid the busiest sections.
Navigation is therefore gradually moving from a universal approach towards a more individualised model: different drivers travelling to the same destination may be offered different routes depending on their experience, habits and current priorities.
Available options can be selected directly from the car’s display. The feature is supported in Yandex Maps and Yandex Navigator when a smartphone is connected to the vehicle’s multimedia system via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
The development of personalised navigation shows how machine learning technologies are gradually changing the everyday driving experience.
Instead of simply calculating the shortest or fastest route, modern navigation services are beginning to take individual behaviour into account and adapt recommendations to each driver.
