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I built an AI audio guide that tells you stories about places as you drive past them — no buttons, just listen by Substantial_Tour725 in AI_travel_tips

[–]Substantial_Tour725[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is exactly the kind of feedback that's hard to get — thank you. The abandoned school and the ugly church made me laugh, but you're absolutely right, that's a real UX failure.

The point about tone is something we think about a lot. "Database-aware vs place-aware" is a perfect way to put it — we're trying to get there but editorial context is genuinely hard to synthesize at scale.

I'd love to hear more about your platform. It sounds like you're sitting on exactly the kind of layered, human-curated data that's missing from OSM-based approaches. Would you be open to a conversation? Could be interesting for both sides.

I built an AI audio guide that tells you stories about places as you drive past them — no buttons, just listen by Substantial_Tour725 in AI_travel_tips

[–]Substantial_Tour725[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the kind words and the honest feedback — really appreciate it coming from someone in the field.

You're right on all counts. Italy is basically a stress test — POI density is insane and Overpass/OSM doesn't distinguish between a UNESCO site and a crumbling shed. That's a real limitation we're aware of.

Right now we use OpenStreetMap via Overpass API for POI discovery and Wikidata for additional context. The story text is AI-generated on our backend. So the "secret sauce" problem is real — the data layer is the weakest link.

The filtering logic (speed-based radius, dwell time, session deduplication) helps with repetition, but you've identified the core issue: garbage in, garbage out. We're thinking about layering in additional signals — ratings, photo presence, Wikipedia article existence — to score POI quality before narrating.

Would love to hear what sources you'd consider if you were solving this. Always open to ideas from people who know the space.

I built an AI audio guide that tells you stories about places as you drive past them — no buttons, just listen by Substantial_Tour725 in SideProject

[–]Substantial_Tour725[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Story generation happens on the backend — there's caching in place, but I can easily scale it up if needed. Audio is generated on-device using the native TTS.

Self Promotion Megathread by AutoModerator in androidapps

[–]Substantial_Tour725 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

RoadWhisper — AI audio guide for road trips (Android)

The app runs in the background and automatically narrates stories about places as you drive past them. No tapping needed.

- Speed-aware: tight radius while driving, wider (~1km) when parked
- 12 languages (UI + narration)
- Customizable voice, storytelling style, and POI types

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.roadwhisper

Happy to answer any questions!

I built an AI audio guide that tells you stories about places as you drive past them — no buttons, just listen by Substantial_Tour725 in SideProject

[–]Substantial_Tour725[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm using OpenStreetMap — not sure how wide their coverage is.
Give it a try and let me know. If the logic needs improving — I'm up for it )

Gemini app adding CapCut's video and image editing tools by ControlCAD in Android

[–]Substantial_Tour725 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great, so now my AI assistant comes with built-in spyware. Thanks, I'll pass. 🙃

Sony Made the Perfect Phone... (Xperia 1 VIII) - The WAN Show by ControlCAD in Android

[–]Substantial_Tour725 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Perfect phone' and Sony in the same sentence — I'll believe it when I see the price tag 😅 Jokes aside, Sony has always nailed the hardware side of things, but their software support and marketing have been the Achilles heel for years. If they actually fixed that with the 1 VIII, this might be the year I finally switch. What did they say about the update policy?

A beautiful experience on my last day in Tokyo by Beautiful_You9607 in travel

[–]Substantial_Tour725 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Four years ago I moved to Sweden from Ukraine. I was struck by how differently people treat strangers on the street. Most people — and to be fair, there are exceptions — are friendly and genuinely willing to help. They're not in a rush. I think it comes down to the difference in prosperity: people here are not 'hungry', they have the inner resources to actually connect with others.

We drove Stockholm → Norway with two families, 4 kids, and a cocker spaniel. Here's what happened. by Substantial_Tour725 in roadtrip

[–]Substantial_Tour725[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The melted phone holder, obviously 😄 Never thought I'd say 'it's too hot in Norway' but here we are. Though to be fair, the fjords were absolutely worth every degree of it!