PillarPoint — open source Android field companion for trig points and bench marks (early testing)
Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2026 1:44 pm
Hi all,
I'm Chris, an open source enthusiast and trigpointer. I've been building **PillarPoint** — a free, GPLv3-licensed Android app that uses the TrigpointingUK API as its trig point data source, with the goal of giving field visitors an offline-first companion for finding, navigating to, and logging visits to trig points and OS bench marks.
It's still early — this is a sideloadable test build, not a finished app or an app-store release — but it's at a point where real-world feedback would help a lot.
**What it does today (v0.6.0):**
- **Map and discovery** — all 26,976 T:UK trig stations and OS bench marks shown on an OpenStreetMap base, colour-coded by type, with a "nearest to me" list and full-text search by name, waypoint, flush bracket number, or grid reference (6/8/10-figure BNG)
- **Fundamental Benchmarks** highlighted distinctly from ordinary bench marks
- **Station detail** — OS reference, flush bracket number, condition, height (GPS ellipsoid and OS altitude), British National Grid reference, bearing/distance compass
- **Bench mark finding descriptions** — the official location text (e.g. "FLUSH BRACKET: FL BR NO11 S SIDE WALLINGFORD BR...") and embedded height data, now shown on the bench mark detail sheet
- **Navigation** — opens OS Maps, Organic Maps, or your system default navigation app at the station's location
- **Visit logging** — condition report, notes, and photos (compressed locally), all stored on-device; GPX track recording during a visit, with export
- **Backup and export** — visit logs export to JSON and re-import, so you don't lose your field history if you change device
- **OpenStreetMap integration** — checks whether a station already has an OSM node nearby; if not, lets you post an anonymous OSM Note or open the location directly in the iD editor. Never edits OSM automatically — you're always in control.
- **Privacy notice and diagnostics screens** — full transparency on what's stored and where
**What's not there yet:** syncing visit logs back to your T:UK account (OAuth integration is in progress, blocked on a few technical details on my end), and a few smaller features still on the roadmap.
**Get it:** sideloadable APK at https://codeberg.org/pillarpoint/pillar ... tag/v0.6.0 (FOSS build, no proprietary dependencies). Source, roadmap, and issue tracker all on Codeberg: https://codeberg.org/pillarpoint/pillarpoint
Many thanks to Ian Harris for API access and guidance throughout. Feedback, bug reports, and feature ideas all very welcome — Issues on the repo, or reply here.
Thanks,
Chris
I'm Chris, an open source enthusiast and trigpointer. I've been building **PillarPoint** — a free, GPLv3-licensed Android app that uses the TrigpointingUK API as its trig point data source, with the goal of giving field visitors an offline-first companion for finding, navigating to, and logging visits to trig points and OS bench marks.
It's still early — this is a sideloadable test build, not a finished app or an app-store release — but it's at a point where real-world feedback would help a lot.
**What it does today (v0.6.0):**
- **Map and discovery** — all 26,976 T:UK trig stations and OS bench marks shown on an OpenStreetMap base, colour-coded by type, with a "nearest to me" list and full-text search by name, waypoint, flush bracket number, or grid reference (6/8/10-figure BNG)
- **Fundamental Benchmarks** highlighted distinctly from ordinary bench marks
- **Station detail** — OS reference, flush bracket number, condition, height (GPS ellipsoid and OS altitude), British National Grid reference, bearing/distance compass
- **Bench mark finding descriptions** — the official location text (e.g. "FLUSH BRACKET: FL BR NO11 S SIDE WALLINGFORD BR...") and embedded height data, now shown on the bench mark detail sheet
- **Navigation** — opens OS Maps, Organic Maps, or your system default navigation app at the station's location
- **Visit logging** — condition report, notes, and photos (compressed locally), all stored on-device; GPX track recording during a visit, with export
- **Backup and export** — visit logs export to JSON and re-import, so you don't lose your field history if you change device
- **OpenStreetMap integration** — checks whether a station already has an OSM node nearby; if not, lets you post an anonymous OSM Note or open the location directly in the iD editor. Never edits OSM automatically — you're always in control.
- **Privacy notice and diagnostics screens** — full transparency on what's stored and where
**What's not there yet:** syncing visit logs back to your T:UK account (OAuth integration is in progress, blocked on a few technical details on my end), and a few smaller features still on the roadmap.
**Get it:** sideloadable APK at https://codeberg.org/pillarpoint/pillar ... tag/v0.6.0 (FOSS build, no proprietary dependencies). Source, roadmap, and issue tracker all on Codeberg: https://codeberg.org/pillarpoint/pillarpoint
Many thanks to Ian Harris for API access and guidance throughout. Feedback, bug reports, and feature ideas all very welcome — Issues on the repo, or reply here.
Thanks,
Chris