Interview with CubeTrek developer

Before you started developing CubeTrek, what similar apps and services did you find useful?

I wanted to build an app to track my hiking and skiing activities in a way I like it, including 3D visualization (I live in Switzerland, so it's usually always either up or down and that's hard to visualize on a 2D map). I know that there are some other apps out there that also have some 3D visualization capabilities (Strava and Fatmap come to mind), but I still wanted to build my own app.

What options does CubeTrek offer that you won't find in alternative apps?

I believe CubeTrek makes it very easy to store, visualize and manage your activity files. All the popular apps focus on only the recent activities, while CubeTrek lets you easily search, explore and compare all your past adventures.

From a practical point of view, how useful is 3d projection? Will it help to improve the routes or plan new ones?

The usefulness of the 3D view depends on the terrain. Personally, I do a lot of hiking and skiing in the mountainous areas of Switzerland, where the 3D view really shines. But I agree, in flat areas a traditional 2D map is visually clearer.

How many users Cubetrek service use? Who do you think are the active users of the product?

CubeTrek is still in the experimental stage, we got a couple 100 of registered users, whereof a couple dozen are regularly active and have connected their Garmin and Polar devices with CubeTrek.

What options would you like to add to the service in the future?

I would like to expand the functionality of comparing matching activities and visualizing past activities, e.g. using a heatmap. Also, the plan is to add a Goals page where you can set e.g. a total running distance you want to reach within a month.

Is your product related to your professional activities? What areas related to navigation or GPS are you interested in?

No, I'm a bioinformatician by profession (working in the Biotech sector). The project is a merge of my two hobbies: hiking and programming.