Location Based Systems

German software provider PTV AG is opening a new subsidiary, PTV América Latina, with headquarters in Mexico City, to offer cities, engineering offices and universities advanced software solutions and professional consulting services for traffic and transportation planning. The new company will be in charge of opening up new business opportunities in all Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America - from Mexico and the Caribbean countries in the North to Argentina and Chile in the South. PTV's Support Cent

Johnson Controls has developed an innovative instrument cluster concept that combines multiple layers of information to generate a three-dimensional (3D) interface. It is claimed that the multilayer instrument cluster concept, which is targeted for full- and mid-size luxury vehicles, creates a more realistic view of the external environment for increased driving efficiency and safety.

Idle Free Systems, a leading provider of year-round idle elimination solutions for trucks and school buses, has announced a new business partnership with AmeriQuest Transportation Services through which the Idle Free electric APU system will be the first electric idle-elimination solution to be available directly to AmeriQuest members. AmeriQuest Transportation Services, with more than 1,500 customers representing 700,000 vehicles, is a privately-held transportation services company. As Jim Sweeny, VP of ca

Writing in the newsletter of TISPOL, an organisation established by the traffic police forces of Europe to improve road safety and law enforcement on the roads of Europe, Danijel Kumberger, National Traffic Police Unit, Slovenia, has revealed how smart the force has had to become to catch law-breaking truckers. As he points out, with automotive technical progress, it is vital to keep in touch with innovation because in modern vehicles, it is all about electronics, data sharing and processing of all kinds of

Bus schedules in the Canadian city of Calgary will be more accurate and predictable as Xerox installs a new intelligent transportation system made up of computer-aided dispatch and vehicle location technologies. As part of a two and a half year, US$14.5 million contract, the computer-aided dispatch and automatic vehicle location (CAD/AVL) system will help Calgary Transit improve fleet management and on-time arrivals. Xerox will install the new system so Calgary Transit can track and dispatch all 986 buses a

Garmin has announced that it will transition its map provider for the majority of its Nuvi range of personal navigation devices (PNDs) to Navteq from February 2012. Garmin PNDs in Australia and New Zealand released from next month will join the majority of Garmin's global range that already use Navteq as a map provider. "Navteq has been Garmin's map provider in the United States and throughout most European countries for many years and they have invested heavily in the Australian and New Zealand markets to

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Mobisoft Oy and the Finnish Meteorological Institute, with support from partners, have developed a communication system for drivers to inform them about weather and road conditions and prevent serious or fatal accidents. When there is snow or ice on the road, the risk of an accident is increased by a factor of 4.1 compared to normal conditions, according to research conducted at the Tampere University of Technology.

Ford has upgraded its state-of-the-art Virtual Test Track Experiment simulator with improved image rendering technologies and capabilities to study driver performance, helping in the development of safety and driver aid technologies. The company says the simulator has helped in the development of heads-up displays, drowsy driver alerts and lane departure warning technology soon to be available on the all-new Ford Fusion.

OmniVision Technologies, a developer of advanced digital imaging solutions, has announced that its flagship automotive image sensors, the OV10630 and the OV10635, have both received AEC-Q100 Grade 2 qualifications, meeting the high standards of quality and performance for automotive applications. Additionally, the company announced that both sensors are in volume production and will be shipping to multiple automotive customers. The two sensors are similar in functionality and performance but are integrated

TomTom has announced the availability of its MultiNet suite of map products in Esri’s file geodatabase format. Large TomTom datasets may now be consumed directly by Esri applications in a file geodatabase format that is configurable within the customer’s environment, saving time and effort for GIS professionals. The geodatabase format enables Esri users to utilise their TomTom data within multiuser access and editing environments for desktop, server and mobile environments.