"There is no GPS mapping software product like Topofusion that enables you to create trail networks and run simultanious simulations for multiple tracklogs." - Doug
Interview with
Scott Morris of Topofusion
The
guys at Topofusion have created a great training tool for multi-sport
activities and adventure racing. Their success is due to their own passion
for sports, adventure, and... well, good programming. Here is what Scott
Morris co-developer of Topofusion had to say about it.
Doug: Scott, would you mind first telling TravelByGPS.com patrons how old you and where you are from?
Scott: I'm 26 from Salt Lake City, and my partner is Alan Morris, 24. For the last 5 years, I've lived in Tucson. Alan is now in Eugene, Oregon.
Doug: How and why did you get started developing GPS mapping software?
Scott:It all started in with our frustration with TopoUSA, Topo!, ExpertGPS and all the other programs we had tried. It's a common thing for programmers to say "I could do better than what's out there" and then never do anything. We did something about it.
Doug: What makes TopoFusion a unique mapping software?
Scott:Its designers are the biggest fans of the program. Since we're always in the outdoors mapping trails and exploring new areas, taking photos, etc, we thoroughly test the program and are always coming up with new ideas to implement.
Since we're athletes and racers ourselves, it's not surprising that the program is highly geared towards those type of pursuits.
Doug: Who is using TopoFusion?
Scott: Good question. I'd guess over half our users are athletes, mostly runners and mountain bikers. With the introduction of Garmin's popular Forerunner GPS receiver, the interest and sales of TopoFusion really took off.
Doug: I understand that athletes are using TopoFusion for performance training. What data is collected? How is the data collected and how is the data transferred to your software?
Scott:Athletes use a GPS recievers to collect position, elevation and time data for their workouts. A simple transfer into TopoFusion gives them access to maps and statistics from the workout. The time component of the data is key to computing speed and other performance indicators.
Doug: How is the data displayed in TopoFusion (maps photos)?
Scott:We have USGS topo and aerial maps for the US, as well as landsat imagery for the entire world. We still have the fastest map display engine I have ever seen.
Doug: From the collected data, does TopoFusion show any new (calculated) information.
Scott:Yes. Elevation gain/loss and profiles are two major sources of info not available on most GPS units. We also compute a host of other statistics from the data including flat, downhill, uphill time and distance, average speed, max speed. We also developed our own "difficulty scale" to rate how difficult a track is based on grade, distance and elevation gain.
Doug: How does TopoFusion help athletes improve?
Scott: One way is simply by accurately capturing a workout/trip. The data analysis can tell you whether you were really going fast or if you just weren't feeling well.
Tracks of the same course/loop can be compared using multi track playback.
We also offer a logbook that keeps track of all your tracklogs in calendar format. It allows athletes to monitor their training volume and gage their performance.
Doug: Explain some of the 3-D features of TopoFusion as related to performance training and adventure racing?
Scott: 3D is great for visualizing a track to get a handle on the geography. Most people don't have an intuitive sense of topography simply from reading a map. 3D really brings the mountains alive and allows you to understand a route. This is ideal for previewing a race course or area.
Doug: What else can you tell me about interesting applications of TopoFusion?
Scott: Well, we recently used Topofusion's multi-tracklog playback feature to review a 100 mile mountain bike race.
See: http://www.topofusion.com/soul2004.php
And, it might be of interest to people that I am doing an adventure race this summer - 2,500 mile mountain bike time trial with no support. It's the "Great Divide Race" and it starts on June 17th. You can bet your lucky stars I'm using TopoFusion to prepare and the GPS is coming along to keep me on track.
See: http://www.topofusion.com/divide
Doug: Thanks Scott and good luck with the race!
