What even is “Project Nami”?

A while ago, I finally gave up on the Bangalore’s traffic having to now go to office almost daily and decided to get a two-wheeler. It was the usual few months of deciding what to buy & the right bike and I decided to get a ICE 2 Wheeler (a Speed 400, Vivi ) instead of an EV, so that I could still travel as far & wide as possible as I would do with my car - usually 20-30k kms a year - and it was perfect, except that this major part also involved going in unknown (to me) regions of India.

That’s where Project Nami comes in - a dedicated small device that is meant to show you only a game-like minimap without distractions.

I explain much better further ahead, read on!

The Problem

Now, if I’d gone with an EV like an Ather or an Ola, I wouldn’t really have an issue with navigation considering the huge TFT displays and integrated Google Maps with your own account - amazing. But well, I didn’t really get a high-end bike now, did I? Me, being the analog loving freak I am, decided to stick with a bike that looks like a bike —

That’s right, no smart device wizardry except for the motorcycle’s electronics, which meant no direct way to get maps easily.

My first thought was “Do I really even need one?” - I generally prefer not using live maps for navigating and always rely on my own directional sense. That’s not to mean that I don’t use maps, it’s just I don’t need a live route shown to me all that time, it’s much easier (in India) to just look it up before you start and just use the old-school aids.

But then again, I don’t have the entire map of India in my head and places are ever-shifting here, which meant I did need to get something to solve the navigation issue. I needed a device that would be distraction-free, dedicated for the ergonomics or riding a two-wheeler and handle the weird road networks of India.

Looking for a solution

But hey, it’s the 21st century, which means a browser and some research later anyone would eventaully find something to find a way to get maps on a motorcycle. Let’s take a look -

Solution #1 - The Obvious

I’m pretty sure most of you reading this would be screaming it, now say it with me - “Just use a phone!” Well, yes, phone mounts work, of course. But they drain the battery, overheat in sunlight, and put an expensive device right there in the open and not to mention, if there’s enough vibrations your phone’s camera might just stop taking good photos.

And besides, they’re a huge distraction with notifications - which is itself enough for some people (like me) to never want this on their own motorcycles.

I suppose I could use a second older phone, which has all the same problems. So, what else is there? Dedicated GPS units for cycling/motorcycling, bringing us to -

Solution #2 - The Screens

These are the ones that comes are dedicated units to sit on your handlebars for maps, they’re really great, but have some issues. Let’s take a look -

Generic Ones

These are bolt on accessories that hook up to the vehicle’s electronics and bring in the fancy smarts of a car-like dash

But they’re not really meant for motorcycles, which means they’re not really designed for the ergonomics of riding a motorcycle. These work great when they come integrated with intent from a manufacturer (most of the time), but as aftermarket accessories, they’re a bit of a mess.

GPS Units

There are also dedicated devices, made with intent for motorcycling and have been around for a while, majorly the Garmin Zumo.

These are great devices, too bad the cost and realities of India don’t really let me put this on my bike. Even if I paid the premium, these would have to be removed from the bike whenever I parked in crowded areas.

Another no-go.

Solution #3 - The Streamlined

Clearly I wasn’t the only one thinking of this kind of a device and turns out there are two big players already in the space -

RE Tripper

The Royal Enfield Tripper has been in the market for a few years now, as part of RE’s accessory line up.

Built in collaboration with Google, these are made by RE and are a perfect fit for their lineup, looking right at home on their dash design. I could ideally fit this onto a non-RE vehicle too. But do you see the issue in the image?

1. It only shows a single arrow & distance for the heading, nothing else
2. It actually needs the phone companion app running at all times, with the screen left unlocked

2, for me is a deal breaker. Why would I let my phone stay on running at all times, with the screen left unlocked? Draining the battery and risking theft? This seems a bit funny because the Royal Enfield Himalayan (and I think newer models in flagship 650 lineup) has the perfect solution -

Not perfect or ideal giving up so much more critical info for the maps to take over half the screen, but it’s a really good solution.

Too bad it’s locked down to specific bikes in their lineup, ugh!

Beeline

And then finally, there’s the Beeline Moto series of devices. The Moto 1 started off with a very interesting concept, almost tailored to the way I navigate without maps -

The Moto 1 shows a simple compass-like arrow, pointing in the direction of your destination and wayfinding is left to you. This kind of navigation lets the rider have the most fun or the most frustrating ride possible. I bought one ASAP, actually used it for about ~7,000KMs across South India and ended up having it get ripped off due to crosswinds on the Chennai highway. It was metal, it was heavy and had no reason to get pulled off of the handlebar mount.

Turns out, there were a few issues with the body design & only the backplate stayed on the mount and the rest of the device flew off because of a loose screw.

Oh well, Beeline themselves seem to have realised this made the Moto 2.

This is the perfect version of the device (so far) I want. It shows the mini-map, shows me the weird little turns based on how fast I’m going with dynamic zoom like a racing game map, and it’s so cute!

Evaluating the options

Let’s take a look shall we -

The Beeline Moto 2 is the perfect solution, except for the fact that it’s expensive and not really sold in India. That means, you’d have to spend the additional import costs and pay a premium for it.

Project Nami

Although the Beeline exists, it’s not very accessible to a larger demographic, the one that would use it extensively and need it more as a simpler commodity than a premium device. There’s still a problem, and I wanna make something. And so I am!

And that’s Project Nami, a small device that is meant to show you only a game-like minimap without distractions and let you navigate the way you want to, without breaking your bank account.

Read the subposts to see the prototype I’m making and the journey of making it!