Usynligo, "Invisible 'O'"
Recently the club has been making use of a mobile app called 'Usynligo' (Norwegian for 'Invisible O')
This app allows us to stage events using minimal equipment and all you need to run is your mobile phone and a printed map.
We have 9 maps set up with courses which you are free to run whenever you like. Why not give it a go!
You can find them here
This page outlines everything you need to know to get started.
Thanks to Scott Bailey (BOK) for putting together these useful guides.
How to print your own map
All of the maps that we are publishing are available as high quality printable PDFs in either A4 or A3 size.
You can find our events here SBOC Maps. Simply download the map on the right under the event description and print it at home on your home printer.
Top tip: print at 'original size' or at 100% for the correct scale and select the best printing quality your printer offers.
How to download and install UsynligO
The virtual orienteering mobile app that we have chosen to use is call 'UsynligO' which has been developed by a Norwegian (hence the name, which means 'InvinsibleO' in Norwegian).
It is used extensively in Scandinavia - and already has over 1400 locations available worldwide, ranging from Urban Sprints to the most complex of remote forest terrain!
We have chosen to use it for its simplicity - it is easy for us to get maps to you quickly - and more importantly it is easy to use as an orienteer.
Why use the app?:
- The app tracks your location via GPS and vibrates and makes a sound when you have found a control point.
- Beginners can get help whist doing a course, as it is possible to ask the app for hints (direction and distance).
- It gives you a set of results at the end - showing your time and splits - useful in training
- You can share your results if you want and compare them to others on the same course.
- It's fun! It even plays a little fanfare when you finish the course!
More details about the app and how to download it are available here.
The app is available for both iPhone and Android - the links to download it directly are below:
Hints and Tips for using the Usynligo app
When you install UsynligO on your mobile phone it will ask you to 'register' - either by creating your own Login, or by your existing Google passwords. Either work fine - so its up to you which you prefer.
Top Tip: Its best to register and login for the first time at home before you set out, in case you can't remember the relevant login details.
Top Tip: press "Score mode after starting to make sure the app is running properly for a score event"
The app will also ask to access 'Location Data' - you will need to grant this for the app to work.
Top Tip: On an iPhone this can be done using 'Settings > UsynligO > Location > Always'. On Android the follow link explains how: Android Location Instructions.
Once you are logged in you will get a screen like the one shown below.
Click 'UsynligO events' to get a list of events that are close to your current location (example shown on the below).
Choose the score course you want to run (and which you have previously printed a map out for - (see the print map section about map printing).
Select the course that you want (example below). You will have options to see the map, publish your time after your run, and to start your course. It also shows how far away you are from the start.
The small three line symbol in the top right of the course screen will take you to a list of existing course results (available if others have already run the course and shared their time).
Top Tip: If you want your name and club to appear in the results - you need to update them in app. In the 'My Races' section in the app - click on the little 'person' icon at the top of the screen, and update your user details - save the changes, and the next time you run your details will appear in the results.
The small cog symbol in the top right of the course screen will take you to some settings around GPS accuracy for your phone whilst running. An example of these settings is shown below:
The default settings are fine for most people - at 15m control radius. In our pre-testing of the courses, we have found that some phones may require a larger control radius if the GPS is not very accurate, and also the opposite for the latest phones where the GPS can be very accurate and a smaller radius works better (the 10m shown above has been used successfully on a iPhone 11 - almost to the level where 'running through controls like SIAC' can be achieved).
Top Tip: Accuracy of GPS in forest areas is not as good as urban areas (especially in deep depressions etc with lots of tree cover). There has been lots of trialing of the GPS settings in the app - and it is recommended to widen the control radius to at least 15m, and the GPS accuracy to 100m for forest maps.
However, we have found that different phones are more accurate than others, and older phones can take several seconds to register the location (sometimes up to 30 seconds - think very old SI card 5 type times!!).
It is worth experimenting on your phone with these settings if you find trouble in registering controls on a course, and also recognise that this is an inherent limitation of using GPS - we will never get the full orienteering experience using mobile phone technology - but its now accurate enough to be fun!
We are in the early days of trialing this technology - so feedback on accuracy when in use etc... would be really appreciated. We anticipate there will be some teething problems - but would prefer that we all had something to have a go at - and to iron out any issues as we go.