Here 2 There

Sometimes you just wanna know how to get from here to there real quick. Here 2 There is an app that lets you quickly drag between two places and immediately start navigation in your favorite maps app.

Comment

Inspiration

I love useful utility apps that do one thing and do it really well. I found myself getting tired of typing all of my destination addresses into Maps in order to get directions to places that I frequently go. The idea popped into my head a few days before the iOS 26 launch, and I decided to go for it.

What it does

Stores your favorite places and displays them in an intuitive UI that allows you to quickly drag your finger from one place to another to immediately launch your favorite maps app (Apple Maps, Google Maps, or Waze) and start navigation.

How we built it

100% Hand coded Swift and SwiftUI (no AI or vibe code here). This is the first project I've used with the GRDB database framework, and I must say I really enjoy it. There are also a lot of custom UI elements made with SwiftUI which pushed the boundaries of my knowledge, so I learned a lot.

Challenges we ran into

Deciding what features to include and which to cut for the initial release. There were only a few days before the submission deadline to be ready for the iOS 26 release, and I really had to focus on what the core mechanic and features of the app would be in order to submit on time.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I really wanted there to be some sort of rope or string that goes between the locations as the user drags their finger. I wanted to simulate the real physical shape of a hanging rope, so I learned about catenary curves and the formulas used to describe them. I was able to implement them in Swift and made them performant enough to render and animate properly as a live drag is happening.

What we learned

  • How to use the GRDB framework.
  • Catenary curve formulas
  • Verlet integration for simulating soft-body physics

What's next for Here 2 There

The biggest request so far is to support multi-stop routes by dragging between multiple locations. This presents an interesting UX challenge, and I think some routes may end up looking like conspiracy corkboards with red yarn strewn between all the items!

Built With

  • grdb
  • posthog
  • revenuecat
  • swift
  • swiftui
  • telemetrydeck
Share this project:

Updates