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GPS is becoming a key tool for navigation for the sighted and non-sighted communities. The New York Times highlights technologies for the handicapped and includes a GPS offering from Sendero Group of Davis, Calif. In addition to providing guidance, it can also be put in “look around” mode where it tells the user what it “sees” including store names, etc. The user can also ask it to look for restaurants!
Millennium Plus is making some big claims about its vechicle tracking offering, so watch out!
1) Millennium Plus is the first to offer publicly, GPS/Internet tracking solutions for all cars, trucks, and recreational vehicles.
2) Millennium Plus utilizes a constellation of 24 geo-synchronous satellites providing precise navigation and position information to the GPS receiver.
The website goes on to note that the company’s device is the only one to offer satellite photos of your car’s location. The imagery is from GlobeXplorer which offers both satellite and aerial imagery.
Rrove (a company in the community mapping space) offers a review of nine community mapping sites. The most valuable part for many folks will be the “When should you use it” section. Included are sites like Platial, Frappr, and Dodgeball.
via SmartMobs
So, the big question everyone wants to know here at the Navigation USA 2006 conference is ‘will personal navigation devices continue to grow in popularity or will they morph into some other consumer electronic device’ like as someone said yesterday "the device formerly known as the cell phone." For sure, everyone agrees…the market researchers (JD Power, Gartner), the device manufacturers (Motorola, Panasonic), and the value added sellers (DaimlerChrysler, Magellan)...this is a hot market. But many expect the revenue from PND’s to flatten after 2010. Cell phones are much more ubiquitous and the demand for "other" functions on the device is causing some concern. Everyone is waiting for the "killer app" that will extend the life of the PND. My take…security is the killer app. Why do people buy cell phones? Security…not to talk necessarily…but the peace of mind that comes with carrying a communication device…just in case. So, look for location-based security apps as a developing market…MyTornadoWarningAlert. Ok…these exist today from the web, but can you get them on your phone? For anyone who is using CAPs…the Common Alerting Protocol…used by the USGS, I’d like to hear from you.
You may have read about an ambulance in the UK that drove 200 miles in the wrong direction depending on it satellite navigation system. The destination was 10 miles away. That’s not alas a new occurance, but I did learn a new term from coverage at the News & Star:
Sat-nag is an old-fashioned form of technology which comes in the shape of a woman sitting in the passenger’s seat with an enormous map spread out on her knees.
