Gps World: Personal Navigation news

http://www.gpsworld.com/listing/37/lbs/personal-navigation

Bangalore: Intelligent signals reduce congestion

Intelligent signals reduce congestion

The traffic police plan to centralise control of signals, and launch the vehicle actuated signal system at around 25 junctions, shortly. Sai Prasanna reports


In a bid to make commuting across the city easier and traffic less congested, the Bangalore City Traffic Police will introduce a vehicle actuation system and centrally controlled signals. They are in operation in some junctions already and will be taken up on a larger scale now. Under BTRAC-2010, Rs 350 crores has been allocated for a period for five years to install signals, signage, CCTV cameras, and enforcement cameras. Every year, Rs 70 crores will be used for these improvements.

Signals
The city has 500 main junctions and 40,000 junctions totally, including crossroads. Presently, 256 signals have already come up in the city, and there will be another 150 signals by the end of this year. From January, all signal lights will be centrally controlled from the Traffic Management Centre (TMC). Senior officials in the traffic department say, "Depending on the volume of traffic, we will adjust the timings from the TMC to avoid congestion. No person should wait at a signal for more than 2.5 minutes. At some junctions like Central Silk Board junction, due to the heavy trafficvolume, we are already adjusting timings."

Once the signals are in place, CCTV cameras will be installed in phases. In each phase, 40 junctions will be taken up. The second phase is almost complete with 80 signals also having CCTV cameras. The third phase will begin next month. Each camera costs Rs 8-10 lakhs.

They are being installed to monitor the density of traffic and for security purposes. Officials say, "Every junction will have signal lights, after which they will be provided with CCTV cameras and then enforcement cameras." Presently, five enforcement cameras have been installed at Kamaraj Road-Cubbon Road junction, Hennur-Banaswadi junction, Padmanabhnagar junction, JP Nagar junction, and BHEL junction (near Tata auditorium). These cost Rs 45-50 lakhs each and there is a plan to have 10 more cameras by January. "We have not yet decided on the junctions where they should be installed. But Hudson Circle, Trinity Circle, Minsk Square, Basaveshwara Circle, and South End Circle are some of the junctions that will be top priority for installing them."

Also, five more interceptors will be bought now at a cost of Rs 25-30 lakhs. At present, there are two trafficinterceptors to bring negligent drivers to book.

Signage
The traffic police will come up with uniform signage on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) from Electronic City to the international airport. The signboards will come up at 80 points and will be located at a distance of one to two kilometres from each other. They will mostly come up at junctions and will have reflectors to enable people to see them even from a distance. The approximate cost to put up these signages is Rs 7-9 lakhs. Apart from this, 10,000 more signs like 'no parking', 'no entry', and direction boards at junctions have been ordered in the first instalment. As of now, 40 percent of these signs have already been installed.

Vehicle actuation system
From January, the vehicle actuation system will be in operation. Presently, every signal has fixed timings irrespective of traffic volume. This leads to unnecessary wait at signals even when there is no traffic. The vehicle actuation system will set timings for signals depending on the volume of traffic. Once all the traffic has moved, the signal will automatically change to let other vehicles pass, reducing the wait time. "During peak hours, the maximum wait for an entire cycle of traffic movement will be reduced to just one and a half minutes", the official explains.

There will also be different timings set for peak hours and lean hours. In the first phase, signals at 25-40 junctions will be made vehicle actuated.

Innovative RFID application for intelligent traffic signalling and positioning systems

Let me interest this forum about new RFID applications we are developing under the e-Safety and Intelligent Transport Systems (IST) domains.

It is based on embedding special RFID devices under the asphalt for alerting drivers about static and dinamic intelligent traffic signals on the road, improving sign awareness and reducing traffic accidents.
Also it works as a true competitive alternative for positioning systems not based on satellites.

We are currently looking for partnership from automobile, car part makers, and transportation industries.

More information available on request and here:

Road Beacon System (RBS)
http://www.roadbeacon.com

source:
https://www.xing.com/net/RFID/business-related-presentations-and-whitepapers-4774/innovative-rfid-application-for-intelligent-traffic-signalling-and-positioning-systems-266067/

Bangalore Traffic Police

Presentation by Bangalore Traffic Police (by Praveen Sood)

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/24509308/Bangalore-Traffic-Police

Bangalore Cops Go For Keltron’s Intelligent Traffic System

Thiruvananthapuram:Posted: Monday, Jul 28, 2003 at 0000 hrs IST : Keltron’s (Kerala Electronic Development Corporation) latest breakthrough — Vehicle Actuated (VA) traffic assess system — has found its first patron. Bangalore Police has firmed up its Rs 1.2 crore order for the system.

As soon as the traffic assess system was developed, two units were tested in Karnataka. A string of 20 VA systems will now be positioned at high-traffic zones in Bangalore in the next three to four months, making it the first Indian city to have intelligent roads. Bharat Electronics Ltd is the implementing agency for the project. Unlike the electronically or manually operated system, the VA system assesses traffic density and facilitates smooth flow of traffic.

Keltron general manager (traffic systems) AV Ratnagiri told eFE that this was the first time that a VA system has been indigenously developed in the country. Sensor lights are embedded on the roads with the help of which the system assesses the traffic density. “For instance, the green light will automatically flash for a longer period if there are no vehicles on the road,” he explained.

The R&D division of the Kerala public sector unit had faced difficulty in locating clients with deep pockets to support the Rs 6-lakh per unit traffic management system. However, Bangalore Police armed with a Rs 6-crore traffic improvement budget for 2003-04, came to its rescue with the first contract.

The Kerala government, yet to find the resources to go for the VA system, is however trying out its cost-efficient version of LED (light emitting diodes) traffic signal system at two accident-prone spots in Chertala in central Kerala.

Two of Keltron’s solar traffic signal systems, one costing Rs 4.7 lakh and other priced at Rs 4 lakh for a four-armed junction and three armed junction respectively, are being tested here. With a one-time investment of Rs 4-5 lakh, these systems can work day and night for as long as 1 lakh hours. The only recurring investment is on battery repla-cement, usually once in two years, which works out to Rs 25,000.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/bangalore-cops-go-for-keltrons-intelligent-traffic-system/88546/

Bangalore Transport Information System

Bangalore Transport Information System

With BTIS you can get
Location of area or place of interest on the map
Driving directions with in Bangalore
Live traffic updates on the map
Live snapshots from the Traffic Junction Cameras
Bus Stops and Routes
Track buses on the map
Carpool partners for your daily commute
Commute to and from Airport
Traffic violation fines against your vehicle
Registration details about a vehicle
Parking availability at various public parking spaces
Access from Mobile

http://www.btis.in/

The Beauty of Maps

Introduction

A stunning visual encyclopaedia fit for a King
This 16th century world map is drawn in the style of a sea chart, with 32 compass directions and navigational lines. But it is not what it seems.
The map is actually created as a work of art for the French King, Henri II (1519-1559), designed to be displayed in his ‘cabinet of curiosities’ or laid out on a table in his library.
The map comes from the renowned Dieppe School of Cartography. It is a large, hand-produced item by Pierre Desceliers, combining knowledge from both French and Portuguese sources – two pioneering nations in the Golden Age of Discovery.
One striking feature is how accurate the coastal lines are for a map of this period. Desceliers calls on geographical knowledge to paint a kind of visual encyclopaedia
This view of the world is based on a blend of classical sources and direct observation. It is a world-view from a time of nautical discovery, as well as being a beautiful Renaissance work of art.
The Desceliers’ World Map, 1550 is part of The British Library collection.

source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/beautyofmaps/historical_maps-map2.shtml

Renaissance: Map

Wikipedia article:
http://maps.thefullwiki.org/Renaissance

Map showing all locations mentioned on Wikipedia article:

The Renaissance (French for "rebirth"; , from ri- "again" and nascere "be born") was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historic era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not uniform across Europe, this is a general use of the term. As a cultural movement, it encompassed a resurgence of learning based on classical sources, the development of linear perspective in painting, and gradual but widespread educational reform. Traditionally, this intellectual transformation has resulted in the Renaissance being viewed as a bridge between the Middle Ages and the Modern era. Although the Renaissance saw revolutions in many intellectual pursuits, as well as social and political upheaval, it is perhaps best known for its artistic developments and the contributions of such polymaths as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, who inspired the term "Renaissance man".

Mapperz - The Mapping News Blog

Mapperz - The Map & GIS News finding blog. With so many Mapping sites online. This blog tries to provide you with the best maps and services that are currently available online. @mapperz


ESRI Shapefile - HTML5 Viewer

This is a neat way to display ESRI Shapefiles online without using any GIS software.
(Note: Not compatible with Internet Explorer)

Two shapefiles are displayed here cities of the world and associated text along with Countries of the World with a line style and polygon fill style.


http://mapperz.blogspot.com/

Ford Unveils World's First Tweeting Car

Ford Unveils World's First Tweeting Car
By Ruth Manuel-Logan on Jan 13th 2010 12:06PM


Picture it, you're driving along, and suddenly, your vehicle reads all of your Twitter messages to you or you can compose replies all while keeping both hands on the steering wheel. Unheard of? Nah, it's only Ford at it again.
Ford Motor Company has plans in the works to launch vehicles with new technology that could allow drivers to use Twitter via voice recognition, stream online radio and search the web from behind the wheel. The system is called "MyFord Touch," and is powered by Ford's SYNC technology, designed with Microsoft. It was revealed last week by Ford's chief executive Alan Mulally at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
This latest technology from one of Detroit's major players, however, has drawn a few criticisms. AAA, the U.S. roadside safety organization, has some pretty valid concerns regarding driver safety and Twitter feeds in vehicles. "The more things that are going on in a vehicle, the more things can distract a driver," a spokesperson said. "You only have so much attention to give, and we really want everyone to keep their attention on the roadway for safety reasons."
Ford's response to AAA's concerns regarding this latest type of driver distraction? According to Doug VanDagens, Ford's global director of connected services, people currently read Twitter feeds while they're driving anyway: "We take what people do - they talk on the phone, they fumble with MP3 players, they look at maps, we take these activities and make them safer," he said.
Tweet, tweet!

http://autos.blackvoices.com/2010/01/13/ford-unveils-worlds-first-tweeting-car/

Tweeting Car: AJ 2011 Ford Fiesta

Tweeting Car: AJ 2011 Ford Fiesta
22 Jul 2010, 0557 hrs IST,NYT News Service

AJ 2011 Ford Fiesta
On Twitter, no one knows you’re a car. The social networking, microblogging trend is already a mainstay of the tech-savvy generation, but why would anyone want a car to send Twitter messages? And how is that possible?

The car that can Twitter is AJ, a 2011 Ford Fiesta that’s a test bed for company engineers exploring the boundaries of what’s possible when an automobile is connected to the internet and all of its concomitant services. In May, a team of Ford engineers drove AJ from Ann Arbor, Michigan , to San Mateo, California, to participate in the Maker Faire. Along they way, AJ sent out Twitter messages.

“It’s getting pretty dark; time to put the headlights on,” was a typical entry, but followers also learned when AJ’s mood was “joyful.” But how could a car be joyful?

“There’s no traffic, and it’s not raining and it’s enjoying a winding road,” said Joe Rork, an information technology architect with Ford’s in-vehicle research and strategy team. Mr Rork recalled the journey recently during a presentation in Manhattan. He explained that AJ was indeed sending the messages on its own.

The software behind AJ was an app called the “Auto”matic Blog. It tapped into the available data on the car, including telemetry information , like location, speed, acceleration and braking. It also gleaned information from the windshield wipers, steering input and GPS data and correlated it with live information culled from the Web.

So, AJ’s software could combine, say, real-time traffic notices about congestion with its current situation (stop-and-go braking) and weather forecasts (storms ahead) and then send a Twitter entry like, “Stuck in traffic; not looking forward to the next 50 miles, either.”

The Twitter app wasn’t the only connected software the Ford engineers tested. The group also ran the location-based foursquare app, through which the car could automatically check the team in at restaurants and tourist spots along the way (and send pictures). Also being tested was a program developed by University of Michigan students called Caravan Track, which allows a group of fellow travellers to be automatically apprised of their friends’ locations and conditions up ahead.

But why would anyone want to do this? Ford is already on track to add smartphone apps, including a Twitter feed, to its Sync-based cars later this year. It has also announced that it will enable other phone apps to connect to its cars, essentially allowing third-party software programs to use a vehicle’s builtin controls, like buttons on the steering wheel, to control programs, including music players running on connected Android phones. The tests with AJ were a natural extension of this strategy, according to Mr Rork, to see what’s possible when the car is connected and online all the time.

Interestingly, mainly off-theshelf hardware was used, including a high-speed cellular data connection, a Wi-Fi router and a Dell computer running Windows 7 in the trunk. It means just about any car could be turned into a Twittermobile. And as for those who scoff at the idea that anyone would want to receive messages from a car, consider that even though AJ rarely sends messages these days, he still has more Twitter followers than I do.

Review After Market GPS device in UK market

GPS Sat Nav Systems
Sat Nav Review Website

http://www.gpssatnavsystems.co.uk/

History of Automotive navigation system (page 1/2)

http://wapedia.mobi/en/Automotive_navigation_system

Wiki: Automotive navigation system (1/2)

An automotive navigation system is a satellite navigation system designed for use in automobiles. It typically uses a GPS navigation device to acquire position data to locate the user on a road in the unit's map database. Using the road database, the unit can give directions to other locations along roads also in its database. Dead reckoning using distance data from sensors attached to the drivetrain, a gyroscope and an accelerometer can be used for greater reliability, as GPS signal loss and/or multipath can occur due to urban canyons or tunnels.

A taxi in Kyoto, equipped with GPS navigation device

Contents:
1. History
2. Technology
3. Controversy
4. Other functions
5. Retrofitting of GPS
6. Alternatives
7. Example systems
8. See also
9. References

1. History

Automotive navigation systems were the subject of extensive experimentation, including some efforts to reach mass markets, prior to the availability of commercial GPS.

Most major technologies required for modern automobile navigation were already established when the microprocessor emerged in the 1970s to support their integration and enhancement by computer software. These technologies subsequently underwent extensive refinement, and a variety of system architectures had been explored by the time practical systems reached the market in the late 1980s. Among the other enhancements of the 1980s was the development of color displays for digital maps and of CD-ROMs for digital map storage. ^[1]

However, there is some question about who made the first commercially available automotive navigation system. There seems to be little room for doubt that Etak was first to make available a digital system that used map-matching to improve ondead reckoning instrumentation. Etak's systems, which accessed digital map information stored on standard cassette tapes, arguably made car navigation systems practical for the first time.^{[original research?]} However, Japanese efforts on both digital and analog systems predate Etak's founding;^{[citation needed]}

Alpine claims to have created the first automotive navigation system in 1981. However, according to the company's own historical timeline, ^[2] the company claims to have co-developed an analog automotive navigation product called the Electro Gyrocator, working with Honda. This engineering effort was abandoned in 1985. Although there are reports of the Electro Gyrocator being offered as a dealer option on the Honda Accord in 1981, it's not clear whether an actual product was released, whether any customers took delivery of an Electro Gyrocator-equipped Accord, or even whether the unit appeared in any dealer showrooms; Honda's own official history appears to pronounce the Electro Gyrocator as not practical. See below for Honda's history of the project.

Honda claims ^[3] to have created the first navigation system starting in 1983, and culminating with general availability in the 1990 Acura Legend. The original analog Electro Gyrocator system used an accelerometer to navigate using inertial navigation, as the GPS system was not yet generally available. However, it appears from Honda's concessions in their own account of the Electro Gyrocator project that Etak actually trumped Honda's analog effort with a truly practical digital system, albeit one whose effective range of operation was limited by the availability of appropriately digitized street map data.

[...] progress in digital technology would not stop simply because Honda had turned its attention to analog. In 1985, for example, the U.S. company ETAK introduced its own digital map navigation system. Although the system's effective range-the area of geographical coverage-was limited, the announcement was a dour one for Nakamura and his staff. Therefore, ultimately the development of a practical analog system was shelved. The staff experienced indescribable feelings of disappointment. The development of [Honda's] digital map navigation system resumed in 1987, following a three-year hiatus. ^[4]

Both Mitsubishi Electric ^[5] and Pioneer ^[6] claim to be the first with a GPS-based auto navigation system, in 1990. Also in 1990, a draft patent application was filed within Digital Equipment Co. Ltd. for a multi-function device called PageLink that had real-time maps for use in a car listed as one of its functions.

Magellan, a GPS navigation system manufacturer, claims ^[7] to have created the first GPS-based vehicle navigation system in the U.S. in 1995.

In 1995, Oldsmobile introduced the first GPS navigation system available in a production car, called GuideStar. ^[8] There also was an Oldsmobile navigation system available as an option as early as 1994 called the Oldsmobile Navigation/Information System. ^[9] It was an option on the Oldsmobile Eighty Eight. ^[9]

However it was not until 2000 that the United States made a more accurate GPS signal available for civilian use. ^[10]

2. Technology

2. 1. Visualization

Navigation systems may (or may not) use a combination of any of the following:

• top view for the map
• top view for the map with the map rotating with the automobile (so that "up" on the map always corresponds to "forward" in the vehicle)
• bird's-eye view for the map or the next curve
• linear gauge for distance, which is redundant if a rotating map is used
• numbers for distance
• schematic pictograms
• voice prompts

2. 2. Road database

2. 2. 1. Contents

The road database is a vector map of some area of interest. Street names or numbers and house numbers are encoded asgeographic coordinates so that the user can find some desired destination by street address (see map database management).

Points of interest (waypoints) will also be stored with their geographic coordinates. Point of interest specialties include speed cameras, fuel stations, public parking, and "parked here" (or "you parked here").

Contents can be produced by the user base as their cars drive along existing streets (Wi-Fi) and communicating via the internet, yielding a free and up-to-date map.

2. 2. 2. Map formats

Formats are almost uniformly proprietary; there is no industry standard for satellite navigation maps, although NAVTEQ are currently trying to address this with S-Dal (see below).

The map data vendors such as Tele Atlas and NAVTEQ create the base map in a standard format GDF, but each electronics manufacturer compiles it in an optimized, usually proprietary format. GDF is not a CD standard for car navigation systems. GDF is used and converted onto the CD-ROM in the internal format of the navigation system.

2. 2. 2. 1. CARiN

CARiN Database Format (CDF) is a proprietary navigation map format created by Philips Car Systems (this branch was sold to Mannesman VDO, VDO/Dayton in 1998, to Siemens VDO in 2002, and Continental in 2007.) and is used in a number of navigation-equipped vehicles. The 'CARiN' portmanteau is derived from Car Information and Navigation.

The first navigation computers using this map format used the Microware OS9000 operating system, however newer variants such as the BMW iDrive and VDO/Dayton PN2050 use Windows CE ^[11]

The original system uses CD-ROM-based maps, with ISO Level 1 encoding for their file system. Map media can be recognized by the presence of the following files on the CD:

• ABSTRACT
• BIBLIOGR
• CARINET
• CARINDB
• COPYRIGH

Newer derivatives also use flash memory and DVD-ROM-based maps, for extra capacity and to add support for long file names. Older CARiN-compatible navigation computers are not able to read the newer DVD maps, but the DVD-enabled computers are still able to read the CD-based maps.

Vehicle manufacturers who have used or are still using this format in one or more of their ranges include:

• Audi
• BMW
• Citroën - C5
• Ford
• Land Rover - pre August 2008
• Mini
• MG - pre October 2005
• Nissan
• Opel/Vauxhall - Vectra, Omega
• Peugeot - 607
• Renault - pre October 2005
• Range Rover - pre August 2008
• Rolls-Royce
• Rover - pre August 2008
• SAAB
• Volkswagen

After-market GPS vendors using the format include:

• Siemens VDO
• Pioneer
• Philips

Older CD-based CARiN maps are completely interchangeable between manufacturers; however, differences in the more modern DVD and flash memory maps are starting to change this.

Point of Interest information can be stored either in the database file itself (usually called "carindb"), or in a separate database under a directory named 'TPD' (Third Party Data). Encoding of GPS coordinates in the TPD folder is proprietary and varies between navigation computers (e.g., BMW 'HIGH' vs BMW 'Professional' editions of the navigation map). Editors are now available to customize these POI.

CARiN media is sometimes referred to colloquially as "Carinet" or "CarinDb," after the names of the files on the navigation media.

2. 2. 2. 2. S-Dal

This is a proprietary map format published by NAVTEQ, who released it royalty free in the hope that it would become an industry standard for digital navigation maps. Vendors currently using this format include:

• Microsoft
• Magellan
• Pioneer
• Panasonic
• Clarion
• InfoGation

The format has not been very widely adopted by the industry.

2. 2. 2. 3. Physical Storage Format

The Physical Storage Format (PSF) initiative is an industry grouping of car manufacturers, navigation system suppliers and map data suppliers whose objective is the standardization of the data format used in car navigation systems, as well as allow a map update capability. Standardization would improve interoperability, specifically by allowing the same navigation maps to be used in navigation systems from different manufacturers. ^[12] Companies involved include BMW, Volkswagen, Daimler,Renault, ADIT, Alpine Electronics, Navigon, Bosch, DENSO, Mitsubishi, Harman Becker, Panasonic, PTV, Continental AG, NAVTEQ, Tele Atlas and Zenrin.

2. 2. 3. Media

The road database may be stored in solid state read-only memory (ROM), optical media (CD or DVD), solid state flash memory, magnetic media (hard disk), or a combination. A common scheme is to have a base map permanently stored in ROM that can be augmented with detailed information for a region the user is interested in. A ROM is always programmed at the factory; the other media may be preprogrammed, downloaded from a CD or DVD via a computer or wirelessconnection (bluetooth, Wi-Fi), or directly used utilizing a card reader.

Some navigation device makers provide free map updates for their customers. These updates are often obtained from the vendor's website, which is accessed by connecting the navigation device to a PC.

2. 3. Real-time data

Main article: Integration of traffic data with navigation systems

Some newer systems can not only give precise driving directions, they can also receive and display information on traffic congestion and suggest alternate routes. These may use either TMC, which delivers coded traffic information using radioRDS, or by GPRS/3G data transmission via mobile phones.

One key type of real-time data is traffic information, which includes:

• Real-time data about free/full parkings;
• Nearest public transport lines and prices, to go to a destination, when there is a jam.

Other real-time data includes weather broadcasting, etc.

2. 4. Integration and other functions

• The color LCD screens on some automotive navigation systems can also be used to display television broadcasts orDVD movies.
• A few systems integrate (or communicate) with mobile phones for hands-free talking and SMS messaging (i.e., usingBluetooth or Wi-Fi).
• Automotive navigation systems can include personal information management for meetings, which can be combined with a traffic and public transport information system.

3. Controversy

3. 1. Safety features

Vehicles produced by Subaru and Lexus, as well as Lexus' parent company, Toyota, lock out many of the features when the vehicle is in motion. The manufacturers claim this is a safety feature to avoid the driver being distracted. Many users have complained that passengers are not able to enter destinations while in motion, even though it is safe to do so. Additionally, drivers have complained that it is often more dangerous to pull off a highway and stop than it would be to enter a destination into the system.

3. 2. Misdirection

A number of road accidents in the UK have been attributed to misdirection by satellite navigation systems. On May 11, 2007, a driver followed satellite navigation instructions in the dark and her car was hit by a train on a rail crossing that was not shown on the system. ^[13] In Exton, Hampshire, the County Council erected a sign warning drivers to ignore their "sat nav" system and to take another route, because the street was too narrow for vehicular traffic and property damage resulted from vehicles getting stuck. ^[14]

On March 25, 2009, a man drove down a steep mountain path and almost off of a cliff after he was allegedly directed by his portable GPS system. He was finally stopped by a wire fence. ^[15]

3. 3. GPS vs speed camera accuracy

In July 2007, an Australian man successfully overturned a speeding conviction after evidence from a GPS navigational trackproved that he did not exceed the speed limit. ^[16]

4. Other functions

• Golf Carts may have integrated GPS rangefinders tailored to specific golf courses, providing interactive course maps and live readings of distance measurements to the green.
• Many systems can give information on nearby points of interest (POIs), such as restaurants, cash machines and gas stations. Some navigation devices use this feature to store the location of known speed traps or speed cameras, and can alert the driver in much the same way as a radar detector. GPS may also be integrated into actual radar detection devices to enhance accuracy, and in some cases, implement a logic system where the system only alerts if the driver is traveling above the speed limit or in the direction to be 'caught.' Unlike radar detectors, GPS-based speed trap warnings are currently legal in many countries.
• The radio dispatching of taxicabs have been phased out in several countries in favor of GPS technology plus some form of mobile networking with on board computers. The central dispatch computer keeps track of all vehicles in its fleet, and automatically selects the nearest cab to respond to a passenger request.
• Advanced car security vehicle tracking systems can relay the vehicle's location via cellular phone services in case of loss or theft. The technology can also be used to manage fleet vehicles, in which case it's known as automatic vehicle location.
• A very basic form of GPS navigation is used on public buses in Taipei, where the location and sequence of bus stops for a particular route are programmed. The computer announces the approaching and upcoming bus stops and repeats the information on a dot-matrix display, all without intervention from the driver. This service was once provided based on tire revolutions and odometer mileage, which is not nearly as reliable as a GPS enabled system.

Automotive navigation system (Page 2/2)

5. Retrofitting of GPS

A vehicle can be retrofitted with a GPS navigation device unit if it did not originally have one. There are three approaches that can be taken here:

5. 1. Portable GPS

This type of GPS navigation device is not permanently integrated into the vehicle, having only a simple bracket to mount the device on the surface of the dashboard and powered via the car cigarette lighter. This class of GPS unit does not require professional installation and can typically be used as handheld device, too.

Benefits of this type of GPS unit include low cost as well as the ability to move them easily to other vehicles. Their portability means they are easily stolen if left inside the vehicle. Furthermore, not having a compass, accelerometer or inputs from the vehicle's speed sensors, means that they cannot navigate as accurately by dead reckoning as some built-in devices when there's no GPS signal. More modern portable devices such as the TomTom 920, have an inbuilt accelerometer to try to address this.

A portable automotive navigation system kit generally includes:

• Mini-USB sync cable
• AC adaptor
• Car charger
• Car mount kit
• Pouch
• Wrist band
• External antenna (optional by model)
• Stylus
• Battery pack
• Document kit
• SD card with preload map (sometimes capable of shuffling MP3 playlists)
• Companion CD-ROM
• Navigation software CD-ROM

Early Factory Navigation System (as fitted to 1997 UK Specification Ford Mondeo)

5. 2. Original factory equipment

Many vehicle manufacturers offer a GPS navigation device as an option in their vehicles. Customers whose vehicles did not ship with GPS can therefore purchase and retrofit the original factory-supplied GPS unit. In some cases this can be a straightforward "plug-and-play" installation if the required wiring harness is already present in the vehicle. However, with some manufacturers, new wiring is required, making the installation more complex.

Modern Factory Navigation System (as fitted to a 2009 U.S. Honda Accord)

The primary benefit of this approach an integrated and factory-standard installation. Many original systems also contain agyrocompass or accelerometer and may accept input from the vehicle's speed sensors, thereby allowing them to navigate viadead reckoning when a GPS signal is temporarily unavailable. ^[17] However, the costs can be considerably higher than other options. In some cases, it may even be more economical to buy a similar vehicle that already has a factory-fitted GPS.

5. 3. Aftermarket

A number of manufacturers supply aftermarket GPS navigation devices that can be integrated permanently into the vehicle. A typical location for such an installation is the DIN slot for the radio/tape/CD. However, in extreme cases, the dashboard may also be remodeled to accommodate the unit.

This approach can be considered a tradeoff between the previous two options. Benefits include a more secure and better cosmetic finish than a portable device, and lower cost compared to the installation of an original factory-supplied GPS.

6. Alternatives

Smartphones with GPS, and other navigation devices, may also be used without installing in a car.

Further information: GPS navigation device

6. 1. SMS

Establishing points of interest in real-time and transmitting them via GSM cellular telephone networks using the Short Message Service (SMS) is referred to as Gps2sms. Some vehicles and vessels are equipped with hardware that is able to automatically send an SMS text message when a particular event happens, such as theft, anchor drift or breakdown. The receiving party (e.g., a tow truck) can store the waypoint in a computer system, draw a map indicating the location, or see it in an automotive navigation system.

7. Example systems

Navigon

• Acer e300 series
• Clarion
• EB street director
• Garmin
• Gizmondo
• Hertz Neverlost
• iGo (software)
• MapmyIndia
• Kenwood DNX-5120
• Magellan Navigation
• Master Navigator Software (Sapper Oy)
• Mio Technology
• Navigon
• Navmii
• NDrive
• Navman iCN series
• Ovi Maps
• Pioneer
• TomTom
• VDO Dayton
• Wayfinder Navigator
• Sygic Mobile Maps/Tele Atlas
• Mireo

8. See also

• GPS navigation device
• Global Positioning System (GPS)
• Point of Interest (POI)
• Personal Navigation Assistant (PNA)
• Radio Data System (RDS).
• Traffic Message Channel (TMC)
• Telematics
• Exif
• GPX
• Mobile data terminal
• NavPix
• NAVTEQ
• Map database management
• Automatic vehicle location
• Mapscape BV

9. References

1. Cartographies of Travel and Navigation, James R. Akerman, p.277
2. "Corporate info | Beginnings of Alpine
3. "Honda Worldwide | History". World.honda.com.http://world.honda.com/history/challenge/1981navigationsystem/index.html. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
4. "Analog to Digital: A Three-year Detour Leads to the Goal" in "Gyro research: the World's First Automotive Navigation system"
5. "Heritage Archives - MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC". Global.mitsubishielectric.com.http://global.mitsubishielectric.com/heritage/contents/gps/page_1.html. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
6. "History - Pioneer UK". Pioneer.co.uk. http://www.pioneer.co.uk/uk/content/company/company/history.html. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
7. "Magellan GPS - Sitemap". Corp.magellangps.com. http://corp.magellangps.com/en/aboutUs/. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
8. "Oldsmobile's Proud American History Page". Oldsmobile.com.http://www.oldsmobile.com/olds/enthusiasts/default6a40.html. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
9. ^ Mitani, Sam. Road and Track. April 1994 issue. "A Date with ONIS", subsection of article "GPS and the No-Longer-Lost Generation". Page 184.
10. "The United States' Decision to Stop Degrading Global Positioning System Accuracy". Clinton4.nara.gov. 2000-05-01. http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/EOP/OSTP/html/0053_2.html. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
11. Microsoft (March 4, 2002). "Microsoft Technology Hits the Road in BMW 7 Series". Press release.http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2002/mar02/03-04BMWpr.mspx.
12. "Physical Storage Format". PSF Initiative. http://www.psf-initiative.com/. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
13. "Woman runs for her life after satnav leads her into path of a train". Daily Mail. 2007-05-11.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=453991&in_page_id=1770.
14. "HGVs told to ignore sat-nav guide". BBC News. 2007-02-19.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/6375459.stm.
15. "BMW left teetering on 100ft cliff edge after sat-nav directs driver up steep footpath". MailOnline. 2009-03-25.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1164705/BMW-left-teetering-100ft-cliff-edge-sat-nav-directs-driver-steep-footpath.html. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
16. "GPS beats radar gun". Herald Sun. 2007-06-02. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21999706-661,00.html. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
17. In-Car Positioning and Navigation Technologies—A Survey, I. Skog, and P. Händel, [1]

Father of mass market GPS is an Indian

BANGALORE: If you do a Google search for ‘Sanjai Kohli’ you don’t get very much. It even asks you whether you meant ‘Sanjay Kohli’. There’s not even a reference to Sanjai Kohli as the son of F C Kohli; he’s F C Kohli’s second son.

Yet, he is the reason why we are able to use GPS (global navigation system) on our mobile phones and cars. And like his legendary father who is referred to as the ‘father of the Indian software industry’, it might be fair to call the 53-year-old Sanjai Kohli the father of mass-market GPS technology.

Kohli has been short-listed for the European Inventor Award (to be announced on April 28) instituted by the European Patent Office and the European Commission. He’s one out of the total of 12 short-listed, and one among three in the category of inventors from non-European countries.

Kohli said the origin of his interest in GPS lay in the work he did for the US defence sector in the 1980s. Soon after finishing his engineering degree from IIT, Mumbai, in 1979, Kohli went to the US to do his Masters, and then worked in a couple of aerospace companies. In one of these, he was assigned to put intelligence into bombs dropped from planes. At that point, 90% of bombs hit unintended targets. “So we worked on a guided GPS system. We pulled off a successful programme, and soon, all the US military weapons were based on that technology,” Kohli said.

He then thought of commercializing the technology. In 1993, he was in Tokyo and found GPS being used in car navigation. But they frequently did not work inside cities with tall buildings because these obstructed the links to satellites. In order to limit this problem, the system makers linked the GPS with aids like gyros, accelerometer and odometer.

“I realized then that there was a great opportunity in GPS devices if I could make them operate reliably in urban environments without external aids while making them smaller and cheaper. He set up a company called SiRF. The innovation we did was to reinvent the signal processing physics to let us reduce the cost and size, and increase power, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars of signal processing/communication equipment to reside in a single silicon chip. The chip was 200 times more capable than those used in the Japanese cars and was available at a fraction of the cost.”t with SiRF. And the rest as they say is history. By 2006, 80% of GPS devices ran on SiRF chips. At its peak SiRF had a market capitalization of $3 billion.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5761161.cms

China plans 11-fold rise in GPS sats

BEIJING: China's new indigenously developed satellite navigation system, called Beidou, is expected to focus on storm and earthquake forecasting and disaster rescue operations, scientists said.

This is in contrast with the NAVSTAR GPS in the US, which allows its defence to locate and hit terrorists and military targets with missiles in remote areas in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It also helps provide commercial navigational services for transportation, telecommunications and other needs.

"A navigational satellite provides information on distance and time. Using basic triangulation principles, it can compute the distance at which a device, vehicle or person is located. Yes, it has helped the Americans find targets for missile and air strikes," a scientist with the Indian Satellite Research Organization told TNN.

India does not have a navigational satellite; China has three at present.

The PLA Daily, a newspaper run by the People's Liberation Army, quoted Qi Faren, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, as saying that China was following a three-step strategy, with plans to complete the second stage by 2012. Its plans include putting up five geostationary satellites and 30 non-geostationary satellites by 2020 to ensure global coverage, PLA Daily said. This will mean more than an 11-fold increase in the number of such satellites from the present level of three.

The ISRO scientist, however, questioned China's ability to put up several navigational satellites in such a short period without preparing the ground for utilizing the new facilities. The Chinese scientist also voiced this concern in his presentation at a recent conference.

"The navigation system needs market operations on the ground. Imagine a time when we are able to send more than 30 satellites into space quickly. That means an investment of tens of billions of yuan. If there isn't a suitable market on the ground, it would be a big waste of money," Sun Jiadong, chief designer of the Beidou Navigation System, said.

The Beidou System will have the Asia-Pacific market open and available to exploit, besides reaping military advantage in a region with four nuclear powers without counting North Korea and Iran.

However, it is expected to face stiff competition from two other sources, as Russia's Glonass system is close to become operational while Europe is building its own Galileo system.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/China-plans-11-fold-rise-in-GPS-sats/articleshow/5970591.cms

The route master: Natural navigation

Without a satnav, Google maps or even a compass, Tristan Gooley finds his way using clues from the natural world. He shows Tim Walker how it's done

Monday, 22 March 2010

Urban jungle: Tristan Gooley, left, with Tim Walker in Hyde Park

Put your iPhone back in your pocket, switch off your sat nav and stow away your A to Z. On a clear evening, Tristan Gooley can point you towards your destination (though only, he would emphasise, to within one degree) using nothing but the stars to guide him.

Gooley says he may be the world's sole living professional practitioner of an ancient discipline: natural navigation. In his new book, The Natural Navigator, he imparts the lessons that he has been teaching himself for 10 years, and has taught others, at his natural navigation school in Sussex, for the past two: how to find north by studying the puddles on a country path or the moss on a tree trunk; how to get home by following clouds, or crowds, or flocks of geese; how to use the wisdom of the Bedouin or the Pacific Islanders to make your way back to where you parked the car.

Gooley is already unique in being the only living person to have both flown and sailed solo across the Atlantic. During the trips – both completed in 2007 – he had the benefit of the best modern navigational devices.

Yet, he says, "That didn't stop me appreciating where the sun was rising, or where Orion was in the night sky. When I took off from Canada I knew I could expect the sun to rise in the north-east at that time of year, so seeing the glow over the white of Greenland was immensely comforting. I had at least six different instruments – compasses, GPS, radio navigation aids – but the thing that made the experience most exciting was feeling connected to the world beyond the cockpit window."

The author decided to turn his passions loose on the public after a conversation with a friend and fellow pilot. "He flies for British Airways, and I asked him where the sun rises. He said, 'In the east.' So I replied, 'Alright, tell me everything you know about where the sun rises.' And he said: 'I just did.' I found it strange that a professional navigator felt so removed from natural navigation. That made me feel evangelical about the subject, so I decided I had to set up the school – even if nobody came!"

Natural navigation isn't solely a rural skill, and Gooley has agreed to meet me at The Independent's headquarters in London's Kensington, to show me just how easily the art can enhance an urban walk, too. Planned, gridded cities like Milton Keynes or Canberra are tediously simple to find your way around, he explains, but London is a web of former villages, a perfect maze of misdirection for the natural navigator to overcome.

His first lesson is in finding the nearest Tube station. Especially at peak hours, the Underground breathes commuters in and out like lungs; all I need do is follow the herd.

A multidisciplinary art, natural navigation requires that I collate various different pieces of information to work out which direction I'm facing. It's a Holmesian process of deduction: clouds frequently move with the prevailing south-west wind; satellite dishes in the UK tend to point south-south-east towards the Astra satellite, which transmits Sky TV; the south-facing side of a street is likely to enjoy more direct sunlight, and therefore to have wider pavements and a higher retail presence. Kensington High Street, I confirm, runs east to west.

Getting their bearings at St Mary Abbots Church

We move on to St Mary Abbots church at the bottom of Kensington Church Street. "The older and more dominant a building is," Gooley explains, "the more reliable a guide it is for the natural navigator." Sure enough, the building's north-facing walls – those less exposed to warm sunlight – are moss-covered and moist. Because the church was built before it could be hemmed in by the smaller buildings around it, its steeple is at the east end, as religious convention dictates.

In Hyde Park, the natural signposts become a little more, well... natural. More often than not, Gooley tells me, the south side of a tree will be bigger, with more branches curled towards the sun. A flock of geese passes overhead in formation, and he tells me that medieval monks sailed to Iceland by tracking the flight paths of migrating Brent geese. In the Pacific Islands, fishermen can follow the birds back to land at dusk. Closer to home in west London you can find the North End Road food market by the cries of the gulls that pick on its daily leftovers.

Our trek takes in a monument in Kensington Gardens to the great navigator John Hanning Speke, the first European to reach the source of the Nile at Lake Victoria. By the mid-19th century, European explorers were already slaves to their instruments; natural navigation was to them a thing of the past. Speke describes in his journal how he showed the workings of a compass to some awed local people in East Africa.

Perhaps thanks to his adventuring past, Gooley says that his natural navigation lessons are often wrongly confused with survival skills. "If you found yourself in a sticky situation, the information in the book would be very useful. But for all the times a walk ends in a survival situation, there are a million or more that turn out rather nice. That's where my interest lies. I want to enrich people's experiences, not just enable them.

"What I love about my subject is that it touches on lots of different areas, from survivalism to ancient history. One day I'll be talking to a botanist about different types of lichen, the next I'm emailing an astronomical society."

Sure enough, the book takes in Shackleton and Shakespeare, Inuits in the Arctic and Touaregs in the Libyan Sahara. "The question, 'Where am I looking?' can be answered in one word – south," he says, "or in a 5,000-word dissertation including everything from the ancient Greek astro-nomers to arboriculture."

Ideally, he says, his pupils would find themselves making good time on a walk to meet a friend, say, and duck off down an unfamiliar side street "to get that slight excitement of being a bit lost and finding your way again. You'll connect with an area in a way that you wouldn't otherwise. We all tend to repeat the same journeys over and over again; if I can help people to see their journeys in a new light, that would be great."

Gooley himself is a veteran of the scenic route. His airborne Atlantic crossing may have been brief, but his solo sailing trip took him 26 days, at the end of which he made landfall at St Lucia. Again, he was surrounded by instruments, but it was the power of nature that moved him most.

"Sometimes, during my course, I make up a pot of leaves, grass, honey, cloves and mixed spices," he says. "I get people to waft it a couple of feet below their noses. When you've been deprived of the scent of land for weeks, had only marine smells for company, and you get a waft of that rich, tropical earth – it's pretty emotional."

'The Natural Navigator' (www.naturalnavigator.com) is published by Virgin Books (£14.99). To order a copy at the special price of £13.49 (free P&P) call Independent Books Direct on 08430 600 030, or visit www.independentbooksdirect.co.uk

The future of pedestrian navigation

Written by jeff

February 28th, 2009 at 6:56 pm

Today’s pedestrian navigation relies heavily on top-down maps, and hasn’t yet made the leap to 3D point-of-view navigation like many in-car systems have. A major reason for this is that GPS+compass navigation lacks the precision needed to create a compelling experience on a handheld device. Several meters and several degrees of error creates an unpleasant jittery experience — even in-car systems occasionally make mistakes about what road you’re on — and the acceptable precision on the road is a lot lower than on foot.

So how do you build an inexpensive navigation system that is sub-meter precise, with degree-accurate heading?

Four months ago, Occipital built a system that is able to achieve this level of precision, by using standard mobile video as an auxiliary position sensor. After an approximate GPS position is established, video frames are transmitted to a server, where they are compared against a vast database of street-level imagery captured by earthmine. Each earthmine image is backed by a dense 3D point cloud. Using all of this information, we are able to estimate the user’s position within a meter, as well as three precise angles of orientation (6 degrees of freedom altogether).

Tomorrow’s pedestrian navigation won’t be top-down; it will be superimposed on the world in front of you.

http://occipital.com/blog/2009/02/28/the-future-of-pedestrian-navigation/