Location Based Systems

According to a new report from Frost & Sullivan, the North and Latin American automotive navigation markets are on the cusp of a shift to connected navigation systems that offer real-time traffic information and local searching options. Navigation systems, whether by original equipment (OE) fitment, aftermarket, or portable navigation device (PND), are feeling the heat of competition from smartphone-based navigation applications. Low-cost smartphone replication technologies are helping navigation markets br

Telogis has announced the acquisition of Navtrak, a specialist in mobile resource and fleet management solutions. The company claims this latest acquisition, along with strong organic growth rate, further positions Telogis as the fastest-growing enterprise Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider of location-based intelligence solutions.

Germany-headquartered PTV claims that the current version of map&guide professional sets new standards for green logistics and transports and provides a wide range of additional useful features. Version 2009 offers what PTV claims is an extremely significant innovation, the emissions calculator, which allows dispatchers to calculate emissions, such as CO2, based on routes. The software uses official data provided by the German Environment Agency for the calculation process. PTV says map&guide professional i

Trimble has introduced the Resolution-SMT GPS receiver, a new embedded GPS receiver for timing applications to enable system integrators to add precise GPS to provide location, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and synchronisation to many products or systems where cost or size had previously been a limitation. The device is a complete, ready-to-go timing receiver in a 19x19x2.5mm shielded module. A Starter Kit from Trimble provides everything a designer needs to begin adding state-of-the-art GPS timing capab

Volvo Trucks has developed a new GSM-based system that allows workshops to check a trucks’ condition remotely – a development that promises increased uptime and lower maintenance costs. The system is scheduled for release in Europe in 2013. The new remote services are possible thanks to the latest version of in-truck Telematics Gateway (TGW). This allows the Volvo workshop to monitor the vehicle's wear and condition in addition to reading fault codes remotely, using the GSM network.

Navmii Holdings, a UK headquartered provider of GPS navigation mobile apps, has received £2 million (US$3.13 million) from investors as part of its current funding round. Since launching in late 2009, the company has registered more than 8.2 million users and says it is growing at a rate of more than 550,000 users a month. The Navmii apps (Navmii and Navfee) have achieved the no.1 position on the Apple Apps store in the navigation category in many key markets including the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, I

Continental is replacing a large part of the hardware in conventional radios with intelligent software. In a test setup Continental is already able to demonstrate the diversity, which is possible through its Global Software Radio (GSR). For example, it can play several radio stations simultaneously. Using loudspeakers and additional headset outlets, car drivers and rear seat passengers can listen to their favourite stations independently of each other. The GSR also allows the driver to listen to a station w

Michael Schagrin and Raymond Resendes provide an update on the US Department of Transportation's vehicle-to-vehicle programme. The US Department of Transportation's (USDOT's) Vehicle-to- Vehicle (V2V) programme, which is concerned with wireless inter-vehicle communications for safety applications such as crash avoidance/mitigation, is a major safety component of the USDOT IntelliDrive cooperative infrastructure programme.

Iteris has been awarded a new contract to lead a team working to update and support the United States’ National ITS Architecture. Pete Goldin reports on this latest initiative to help all US agencies’ development and application of ITS systems The United States Department of Transportation has a set of standards safeguarded for ITS for the US, with a vision for the future of transportation technology called the National ITS Architecture. This may sound like a secret plan kept in a vault somewhere, but the

It is now 20 years since publication of the Strategic Plan for Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems. A select group of luminary figures of the ITS industry give their assessment of progress to date This year the IVHS Strategic Plan turns 20, signaling the graduation of the field of Intelligent Transportation Systems from its tumultuous teens to young adulthood. After two decades tethered by the cords of youth and protected by the strict control of adult institutions, ITS has reached a turning point. Its y