I wish the idea of shortest distance isn't always the fastest or most convenient distance. I hope Google Maps can do this. I get frustrated that it keep giving shortest distance with lots of turns. Does anyone know?
> I hope Google Maps can do this. I get frustrated that it keep giving shortest distance with lots of turns.
Google Maps has been doing this for a longest time. They take freeways and signals into account, on top of the real-time traffic. Google Maps will often show multiple route options, some shortest distance, some fastest time, and nowadays "greenest" option (based on the car you picked). If you're not happy with Google Maps' initial pick of the route, you can also try alternate routes once in the navigation.
Path finding algorithms have had options to add penalty for turns for as long as I've been alive. I remember offline navigation systems allowing you to tune this (e.g. TomTom on the palm pilot, Microsoft Streets & Trips on the PC).
