Project AURORA

[Madacool01]

Today I started planning one of the biggest projects I've wanted to work on so far: Project AURORA.

The idea came from a simple problem my family runs into while driving. Sometimes it's surprisingly difficult to quickly understand a navigation map, especially at busy intersections where you have to decide in just a few seconds whether to turn now or at the next road. That got me thinking: what if the navigation wasn't on a map at all?

Project AURORA is an augmented reality navigation software that overlays navigation arrows directly onto a live camera view, making it feel as if the road itself is guiding you. I am trying to make this similar to the quest markers you see in video games.

For Version 1, I'm intentionally keeping things realistic and manageable. Instead of immediately testing it in a real car, I'll build everything inside a simulation. The application will play prerecorded driving videos while following a predefined route that I create myself. This lets me develop and debug the navigation logic safely before moving to real-world testing.

The navigation system will use free and open tools such as OpenStreetMap, OSRM, and Nominatim for routing. One of the core mathematical components will be the Haversine formula (more detailed explanation here #11 ), which calculates the distance between two GPS coordinates and helps determine how far the simulated vehicle is from the next waypoint or turn.

My current roadmap looks something like this:

• V1: Simulation using prerecorded road videos and predefined GPS routes.
• V2: Replace the simulation with a live phone camera and real GPS while keeping the same navigation architecture.
• Future versions: Explore more advanced computer vision features such as better AR alignment, road understanding, and possibly machine learning where it actually adds value.

One thing I'm trying to focus on with this project is good software engineering rather than jumping straight into AI. I want to build a clean, modular foundation first, then gradually add more advanced features once the core system is reliable.

This will definitely be one of my longest-term projects, and I'm excited to see how far I can take it.