Stupid idea for an app for car buddies - need some feedback
Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2026 10:39 pm
I've been VERY busy with another job, writing a book, developing a lego based experiment platform, and doing tons of other stuff. Occaisionally I dabble in PureBasic to write some small tool to make my life easier, but that's about it.
One of the things I spent (wasted
) my time on for the last two years was doing roadtrips with my car buddies. (I've got an MX-5 / Miata, you know the type.)
What I noticed is that there are few 'buddy apps' that helps groups of people to get together and drive together. The few that I found are mostly overkill or way too expensive, or just don't do what I would want them to.
So, I considered writing something myself, but I'm not exactly sure where to start.
The concept is pretty easy:
- 1 server
- n clients on mobile
- each client logs in using a user name and a group name
- whilst the app is running, it shares its location with the app
- the server shares the locations of all the users, near real time
- the users see a 'dot-with-a-tail' on their screen, that shows all the other users logged into that group
- each dot (user) leaves a trail behind in a lighter color
That's it. Nothing else. Perhaps a zoom limiter and a 'message to group' button, but that's about it.
What would (should ) happen is that you will see on screen the route that everyone is driving, and where they are. So, let's say there is a 100 car event with everyone following a route using a GPX file, the app would show if the majority is ahead or behind you, and roughly what route they are following. You can't use it for routing or tracking or following a route, not really, but it's nice to run as a group building app.
How difficult is it to build something like that? (I've never developed for mobile.)
One of the things I spent (wasted
) my time on for the last two years was doing roadtrips with my car buddies. (I've got an MX-5 / Miata, you know the type.)What I noticed is that there are few 'buddy apps' that helps groups of people to get together and drive together. The few that I found are mostly overkill or way too expensive, or just don't do what I would want them to.
So, I considered writing something myself, but I'm not exactly sure where to start.
The concept is pretty easy:
- 1 server
- n clients on mobile
- each client logs in using a user name and a group name
- whilst the app is running, it shares its location with the app
- the server shares the locations of all the users, near real time
- the users see a 'dot-with-a-tail' on their screen, that shows all the other users logged into that group
- each dot (user) leaves a trail behind in a lighter color
That's it. Nothing else. Perhaps a zoom limiter and a 'message to group' button, but that's about it.
What would (should
) happen is that you will see on screen the route that everyone is driving, and where they are. So, let's say there is a 100 car event with everyone following a route using a GPX file, the app would show if the majority is ahead or behind you, and roughly what route they are following. You can't use it for routing or tracking or following a route, not really, but it's nice to run as a group building app.How difficult is it to build something like that? (I've never developed for mobile.)
)