Ever wondered how route planning apps, well, plan routes? In this episode, we navigate through this fascinating topic, a field as data-driven and systemic as it is magical and compelling. Joining us is Parker Woodward, Route Expert and Marketing Director for Route4Me. We discuss how route planning works, the intricacies behind it, and how services like Route4Me perform complex balancing acts between machine learning and user-generated feedback.This episode touches on the following key topics and ideas:00:00:23 Introducing Parker00:01:54 Becoming a Route Expert00:04:22 Getting started through smaller startups00:12:41 Leveraging technology for the greater good00:14:36 The magic of route planning00:23:30 Homomorphism and satisfiability00:31:18 Geocoding00:33:06 User-generated feedback00:37:08 Importance of statistics knowledge00:39:34 The degree of automation in route planning00:42:54 Inverse decision-making00:48:47 Operations Research00:53:42 Dwarf Fortress00:56:40 US vs European routes00:57:51 What Route4Me does01:05:38 Working at Route4Me01:10:26 Route4Me APIResources mentioned in this episode:Tools
Route4Me https://route4me.com

Route4Me API https://route4me.io

Waze https://www.waze.com

Google Maps https://www.google.com/maps

OpenStreetMap https://www.openstreetmap.org

MapQuest https://www.mapquest.com

DeepMind https://deepmind.com

BooksSapiens by Yuval Noah HarariGamesDwarf Fortress http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/
Links
Waymo https://waymo.com/

Upwork https://www.upwork.com/

Reach out to Parker via email: parker@routeforme.comCatch Parker on LinkedInIf you’ve enjoyed this episode, you can listen to more on Programming Throwdown’s website: https://www.programmingthrowdown.com/Reach out to us via email: programmingthrowdown@gmail.comYou can also follow Programming Throwdown on Facebook | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Player.FM Join the discussion on our DiscordYou can also help support Programming Throwdown through our Patreon★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★