Alarm clock app that ties in with Google Maps

highdef · 25-09-2019 01:38PM #1

Hey, does anyone know of any alarm clock apps that work with Google Maps, in the sense that your desired wake-up time may be changed to an earlier time because Google Maps estimates that your journey to work will be longer than normal due to congestion/an incident/etc? In the same way, it may give you a few extra minutes sleep if traffic is unusually light, should you wish for those extra minutes in bed.

For myself, there have been a few times in the past few weeks when traffic has been MUCH heavier than normal for various reasons and if my alarm had gone off 20/30 minutes earlier, I wouldn't have had to rush/be late.

B_ecke_r · 25-09-2019 01:42PM

never heard of it,

I did hear of an idea few years ago where your alarm goes off @ a certain destination ( like if you were asleep on the bus it beeps before your stop)

this will come first imo

future is bright.

Del2005 · 25-09-2019 01:46PM

Waze can alert you to leave based on traffic if you pre plan a journey. But since both use the same data, from Google, and I've driven down quite roads showing red for traffic and have had to inform Waze of traffic jams I wouldn't be trusting the data to give me a few minutes in bed.

phill106 · 25-09-2019 01:46PM

Similarly i would find location based alarms/reminders handy. ie once you get to work, do this. Get home, do that.

25-09-2019 01:56PM

highdef wrote: »

Hey, does anyone know of any alarm clock apps that work with Google Maps, in the sense that your desired wake-up time may be changed to an earlier time because Google Maps estimates that your journey to work will be longer than normal due to congestion/an incident/etc? In the same way, it may give you a few extra minutes sleep if traffic is unusually light, should you wish for those extra minutes in bed.

Wouldn't that information be provided to you far too early? Won't the traffic situation be a lot different after you get ready in the morning etc., especially during rush hour? Seems like a risky game to play. :pac:

highdef · 25-09-2019 02:24PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Wouldn't that information be provided to you far too early? Won't the traffic situation be a lot different after you get ready in the morning etc., especially during rush hour? Seems like a risky game to play. :pac:

Yes, I understand that but in my particular situation, it would often work quite well. I'm about 40km from my workplace and any incidents that occur on the motorway (for example) will usually lead to delays that will escalate quite quickly and will usually last quite a long time. A crash on the motorway I use at 07:30 that is cleared 45 minutes later will usually still have much longer delays on it for several km at least until well after 09:00, if not longer. With traffic information being continually updated thanks to car drivers supplying the info, it should be fairly simple (I would imagine) for a calculation be made to estimate when you should wake up. If it ends up that by time I get on the road and the traffic has cleared quite quickly, I'll just end up being a bit earlier for work on that particular day so not really an issue. I do like my sleep though and don't want to get up a half hour earlier every morning just in case there might be much heavier than normal traffic on any given day.

We already have apps that monitor your state of sleep and alter your wake up time so that you are not in a deep sleep when the alarm wakes you so I'm thinking my idea is not unfathomable.

B_ecke_r · 25-09-2019 02:26PM

if you put your home and work location into google maps it already gives you an estimated time of arrival including delays and stuff - it won't edit your alarm though

Thoie · 25-09-2019 02:30PM

highdef wrote: »

Yes, I understand that but in my particular situation, it would often work quite well. I'm about 40km from my workplace and any incidents that occur on the motorway (for example) will usually lead to delays that will escalate quite quickly and will usually last quite a long time. A crash on the motorway I use at 07:30 that is cleared 45 minutes later will usually still have much longer delays on it for several km at least until well after 09:00, if not longer. With traffic information being continually updated thanks to car drivers supplying the info, it should be fairly simple (I would imagine) for a calculation be made to estimate when you should wake up. If it ends up that by time I get on the road and the traffic has cleared quite quickly, I'll just end up being a bit earlier for work on that particular day so not really an issue. I do like my sleep though and don't want to get up a half hour earlier every morning just in case there might be much heavier than normal traffic on any given day.

We already have apps that monitor your state of sleep and alter your wake up time so that you are not in a deep sleep when the alarm wakes you so I'm thinking my idea is not unfathomable.

Short term workaround - let's say it takes you 30 minutes to get dressed/out the door in the morning. Set a calendar appointment for a spot that's about 30 minutes beyond your actual destination (but that still uses the same road for the first bit), and let Google calendar alert you to when it's time to leave, but that can be your wake up time?

I like your idea in general though. It could only ever be an approximation - it can never take into account the accident that happens 20km away from you just as you get in the car, that will add an extra 20 minutes on your trip.

Tazzimus · 25-09-2019 02:30PM

phill106 wrote: »

Similarly i would find location based alarms/reminders handy. ie once you get to work, do this. Get home, do that.

That's already a thing with Google Assistant.

I have my commute route set up on Google maps and it gives me a rough indication of how long it'll take. Most of the time it's not far off.

highdef · 25-09-2019 02:35PM

B_ecke_r wrote: »

if you put your home and work location into google maps it already gives you an estimated time of arrival including delays and stuff - it won't edit your alarm though

Yes, and that's exactly what I am looking for - an alarm to tie in to it. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is say to my phone "Hey Google, how's my commute looking today?" - This is currently followed by:

Catching up on the news, then get up and have breakfast and coffee. Then a 15 minute walk with the dog and then head to work or else
Jump out of bed, skip breakfast, 5/10 minute speedwalk with the dog and then head to work.

Ideally, it would be great if in scenario #2, I was awoken at such a time that I could follow scenario #1, albeit with an earlier starting time which is exactly what I want.

25-09-2019 02:38PM

highdef wrote: »

Yes, I understand that but in my particular situation, it would often work quite well. I'm about 40km from my workplace and any incidents that occur on the motorway (for example) will usually lead to delays that will escalate quite quickly and will usually last quite a long time. A crash on the motorway I use at 07:30 that is cleared 45 minutes later will usually still have much longer delays on it for several km at least until well after 09:00, if not longer. With traffic information being continually updated thanks to car drivers supplying the info, it should be fairly simple (I would imagine) for a calculation be made to estimate when you should wake up. If it ends up that by time I get on the road and the traffic has cleared quite quickly, I'll just end up being a bit earlier for work on that particular day so not really an issue. I do like my sleep though and don't want to get up a half hour earlier every morning just in case there might be much heavier than normal traffic on any given day.

We already have apps that monitor your state of sleep and alter your wake up time so that you are not in a deep sleep when the alarm wakes you so I'm thinking my idea is not unfathomable.

I see your point but you've made a lot of assumptions there about the average severity of a traffic incident, the average length of time it takes to clear etc. I would be quite annoyed if the app woke me up very early and I also ended up at work very early because either the traffic caused by an incident had already subsided or because Google Maps also noticed this incident and picked an alternative route that wasn't much slower.

And regarding the idea of sleeping in a bit more if the traffic is lighter than usual, what if this current lighter traffic is due to many people waking up late? Now, you'll instead have more traffic when you actually leave the house a bit later then less traffic, and so you should have instead woken up earlier instead of later.

I think the app is a nice shower thought but I think the practicality of it is quite limited.

highdef · 25-09-2019 02:39PM

Thoie wrote: »

Short term workaround - let's say it takes you 30 minutes to get dressed/out the door in the morning. Set a calendar appointment for a spot that's about 30 minutes beyond your actual destination (but that still uses the same road for the first bit), and let Google calendar alert you to when it's time to leave, but that can be your wake up time?

That could work but depending on where you are commuting to and from, it's likely to be wildy off as it's depending on traffic conditions on a route you don't take.

Thoie wrote: »

I like your idea in general though. It could only ever be an approximation - it can never take into account the accident that happens 20km away from you just as you get in the car, that will add an extra 20 minutes on your trip.

I understand that it's not a foolproof idea and there will be times when there is a crash along my route between the time I wake up at and when I leave but it would be a godsend for the times when a major delay has already begun because chances are it will still be ongoing for a few hours. Still might end up late but would have a decent chance of being not as late as potentially could be should I wake up at my normal time.

highdef · 25-09-2019 02:42PM

Tazzimus wrote: »

That's already a thing with Google Assistant.

I have my commute route set up on Google maps and it gives me a rough indication of how long it'll take. Most of the time it's not far off.

How do I set this up in advance so that it wakes me from my sleep on time (rough indication) on a daily basis (or days that I regularly drive to work)?

Tazzimus · 25-09-2019 02:54PM

highdef wrote: »

How do I set this up in advance so that it wakes me from my sleep on time (rough indication) on a daily basis (or days that I regularly drive to work)?

I was referring to the post I quoted, you can set reminders for when you get to a certain location; Work, home etc.
It doesn't act like an alarm to wake you up.

My commute can vary wildly depending on the M4 and how many people have a crash that morning, so I just get up earlier each morning.
Sucks on some days when I arrive early, but I can just leave early on those days.

For the days where there has been a crash or the likes, I've generally been on time or not very late, because I left early anyway.
I commuted half of the M50 for 3 years, so got accustomed to doing this pretty quickly.

Thoie · 25-09-2019 02:57PM

highdef wrote: »

How do I set this up in advance so that it wakes me from my sleep on time (rough indication) on a daily basis (or days that I regularly drive to work)?

If you put in a recurring calendar event (e.g. 9am Work), with the precise location of your office, calendar will alert you on your phone to say "it's time to leave for work". Then it's just a case of setting the notification tone and volume to something that will wake you.

Del2005 · 25-09-2019 02:57PM

highdef wrote: »

Yes, and that's exactly what I am looking for - an alarm to tie in to it. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is say to my phone "Hey Google, how's my commute looking today?" - This is currently followed by:
Catching up on the news, then get up and have breakfast and coffee. Then a 15 minute walk with the dog and then head to work or else

Jump out of bed, skip breakfast, 5/10 minute speedwalk with the dog and then head to work.

Ideally, it would be great if in scenario #2, I was awoken at such a time that I could follow scenario #1, albeit with an earlier starting time which is exactly what I want.

I don't think any app can do that. You can get reminders of when to leave due to traffic. But an alarm to tell you how long to walk your dog!

highdef · 25-09-2019 03:06PM

Tazzimus wrote: »

I was referring to the post I quoted, you can set reminders for when you get to a certain location; Work, home etc.
It doesn't act like an alarm to wake you up.

My commute can vary wildly depending on the M4 and how many people have a crash that morning, so I just get up earlier each morning.
Sucks on some days when I arrive early, but I can just leave early on those days.

For the days where there has been a crash or the likes, I've generally been on time or not very late, because I left early anyway.
I commuted half of the M50 for 3 years, so got accustomed to doing this pretty quickly.

We use the same motorway

I would get up a good bit earlier each morning but I do like my bed! Getting up consistently early and being sometimes way early for work is not such a bi deal but I know that I will still end leaving at the normal time.....my own fault though, of course.

highdef · 25-09-2019 03:07PM

Thoie wrote: »

If you put in a recurring calendar event (e.g. 9am Work), with the precise location of your office, calendar will alert you on your phone to say "it's time to leave for work". Then it's just a case of setting the notification tone and volume to something that will wake you.

I'll give that a shot. Just created a recurring alarm in google calendar. Will see how it goes.

Thoie · 25-09-2019 03:26PM

highdef wrote: »

I'll give that a shot. Just created a recurring alarm in google calendar. Will see how it goes.

I think you want an "event" not an alarm. When I have events, with proper location details, google tells me "it's time to leave for blah".

highdef · 25-09-2019 03:39PM

Thoie wrote: »

I think you want an "event" not an alarm. When I have events, with proper location details, google tells me "it's time to leave for blah".

Sorry, that should have been an event, not an alarm. Given the fact that I usually spend a minimum of 45 minutes doing stuff before leaving for work, I don't see many times when I will be awoken earlier than normal.

Perhaps if the calendar event States that I have an event at my work place at 08:15, I normally spend 45 minutes at home doing stuff before beginning my commute and I actually need to be arriving at the office at 09:00, then that could maybe work.

Alarm clock app that ties in with Google Maps

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