Thursday, February 12. 2009

TomTom Map Share Feedback Even Surprises Tele Atlas

This week, Tele Atlas (TA) announced the first release of their global street network that is augmented with data from TomTom Map Share, a service offered to users of TomTom portable navigation devices (PND) that allows them to independently report a variety of road network changes including impedences, new signage, etc. The feedback is sent to TA, a TomTom company, but as a consequence of collecting so much additional data, TA recognized that it was also capturing new road geometry not previously mapped.

Users of TomTom PNDs have the option of providing feedback in a few different ways. One is to manually indicate road blockages, for example, but another is to share certain bits of data such as speed and position. As it turns out,TomTom users were leaving their PNDs on even in areas where there was sparse or no road coverage such as certain regions of Eastern Europe. This feedback made it's way to TA database managers that are recognizing that new road segments were being added to the community contributed data. This new information allows the company to selectively dispatch crews to verify new road geometry and perhaps identify pockets of new users for additional marketing and advertising.

I spoke to Mr. Arnout Desmet while attending the Map World Forum conference in Hyderbad. Directions just recently interviewed Mr. Desmet when it was announced that TA had signed a agreement with the Survey of India (SOI) to incorporate SOI data into the TA road database. He also informed me about TA's historical speed profiles which are now being incorporated into traffic information. TA began collecting speed information in 2006 and now has a database of historical profiles in 5 minute increments for various times of day and now over months of time. Essentially, TomTom users are acting as probes on the street network collecting a vast amount of data that now equals twice the entire road network of Europe every 24 hours according to Mr. Desmet. He believes this is a unique service that TomTom provides to users.

Posted by Joe Francica in Sensors, Navigation, Routing, Tracking, Logistics, Tele Atlas, Map World Forum 2009 at 02:08 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Thursday, February 5. 2009

SiRF Technology’s GPS Solutions in SYNC with Ford Cars…Literally

SiRF Technology is providing the GPS chip set for Ford Motor Corporation’s SYNC technology to support location-based applications. SYNC was developed jointly with Microsoft and was launched 18 months ago on selected Ford vehicles. It is an in-dash system for advanced connectivity, communication and entertainment but, as importantly, functions as platform for many other applications that can be expanded when the demand is needed.  On January 8th at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Ford announced that SYNC’s new features will now include Traffic by INRIX and driving directions supported by TeleNav that leverage SiRF’s technology.

SiRF is working with M/A-COM Technology Solutions, a tier 1 electronics supplier to Ford that is supplying an integrated module to Ford that includes the SiRF chip set with antenna, receiver, and memory as well as a Bluetooth-enabled phone. M/A-Com is responsible for linking location to the car’s architecture bus and making sure it works indoors as well as outdoors.

The technology of M/A-Com and SiRF that is being supplied to Ford will use the car’s architecture bus to take information from the car’s many other sensors to compliment the GPS. Using a SiRF Star II GPS chip set, SiRF developed new software architecture to work with the car’s sensors.  This allows the SiRF GPS chips to calibrate the vehicle’s sensors, such as an internal gyroscope, and the vehicle’s sensors will in turn support location determination if a GPS signal is not available.

When GPS is not reliable, the combined measurements of speed and heading as well as the odometer are used to determine the vehicles location. The vehicle’s internal gyroscope is involved to help also determine whether the car is going forward or reverse so that location accuracy will be maintained. Other vehicle sensors are so accurate so as to detect whether the wheels are drifting and if the car tires are expanding, both of which might affect the vehicle’s position over long distances. In that case, the M/A-COM modules is sophisticated enough to perform the recalibration needed to correct location. 

Posted by Joe Francica in LBS, GPS, Sensors, Traffic, Navigation at 08:46 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Monday, January 12. 2009

Consumer Electronics Show 2009: A Geo-Highlights Wrap Up

This long-ish post pull together the announcements from the consumer sphere that may relate to geotechnology, or that you shouldn’t miss.

Bottom line themes: more connectedness, convergence and location data. Big geo news? None really. Big device news? Palm’s Pre.

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Microsoft, Tracking, GPS, Remote Sensing, Sensors, Real-Time/Dynamic Data, Local Search, Satellite Navigation, Navigation, Social Networking, Apple, Tele Atlas, NAVTEQ, Infrastructure at 06:00 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Friday, December 19. 2008

Using LBS iPhone Apps for PR

There's a new, free app for the iPhone that provides details about Washington DC aimed at inauguration goers. Besides maps and tourist info it includes a countdown to the big day and a proximity tool that tells you how far you are from where the event will ultimately be held. Cool.

Who's behind it? A DC law firm and a PR firm. Patton Boggs and Qorvis Communications.

This is a strange new world of "location-based advertising." The moto of the PR effort: Qorvis and Patton Boggs, Navigating Washington.

This application was developed (they call it "mobilized" by PointAbout.

- AppScout

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Navigation, Apple at 06:40 | Comment (1) | Trackbacks (0) |

Monday, December 1. 2008

Update: Nokia Survey Reveals Most "Lost" Cities, Disoriented Countries

Update 12/1/08: Nokia released the press release last week, after the cited article appeared.


--- original post 11/26/08 -----------

A press release (likely released only in Europe, this version is nicely tailored to the UAE) touts a study Nokia commissioned to determine experiences and opinions on getting lost, one's sense of direction and the like. This is another of those surveys that lets the commissioner talk about their solution to whatever the indicated issue is. (See my primer on using this technique for your own press relations.)

Here are the details of the survey:

Research conducted by ICM among 12,500 people in 13 countries during the period of 1 - 23 October 2008. Countries where research was conducted: UK, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Australia, Brazil, China, UAE, Russia, Singapore, India, South Africa.

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Navigation at 08:44 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Tuesday, October 28. 2008

Nav Devices...They're Like Spell Checkers..."It's OK Not to Think"

As I was driving back to my hotel tonight from the GEOINT conference in Nashville, a short five mile drive, I used my NIM-powered VZNavigator to find my way from the Opryland Hotel. And it dawned on me...PNDs are like spell checkers...they give you permission not to think.

Back in the day...I would prepare for this kind of short journey by using a paper map,  look for street names and landmarks. Now, I just listen...rather, I'm told where to go. It's like a spell checker; you don't have to spell very well but that's OK, your misspelled and sometimes horrible grammar get corrected. In this case, your navigation IQ can be amplified and generally you can "tune-out" to your environment. Such is the pity.

As we get more into connected nav devices and greater data streams allow for better navigation, we may (and I emphasize "may") lose local familiarity or the desire to navigate by landmarks. If you are looking for a business or other location and stop at a gas station, most locals will tell you to navigate by local landmarks..."Turn right at the McDonald's and head toward the Big 10 Tire sign...it'll be on your right..." or some such reference. I'd like to see if my next PND will navigate me by landmarks and POIs.

Posted by Joe Francica in LBS, GPS, Real-Time/Dynamic Data, Navigation, GEOINT 08 at 20:45 | Comment (1) | Trackbacks (0) |