Consumer electronics - GPS Devices

Rational consumer

The road ahead
Sep 3rd 2009
From The Economist print edition

Consumer electronics: Your next satellite-navigation device will be less bossy and more understanding of your driving preferences

Illustration by Allan SandersDO YOU get a quiet sense of satisfaction in deviating from the route recommended by your satellite-navigation device and ignoring its bossy voice as it demands that you “make a U-turn” or “turn around when possible”? A satnav’s encyclopedic knowledge of the road network may justify its hectoring tone most of the time, but sometimes you really do know better. The motorway might look like the fastest way but it can be a nightmare at this time of the day; taking a country lane or a nifty shortcut can avoid a nasty turn into heavy traffic; or sometimes the chosen route is simply too boring.

Fortunately your next satnav will be more understanding, because it will allow a greater level of personalisation. It may well, for example, try to learn your motoring foibles, such as your favourite route into town. This is just one of the features being readied for inclusion in the next generation of devices. If you want them to, they will help you drive more economically by offering the route that requires the least fuel, or provide tips on how to adjust your driving style to be more frugal. Access to real-time traffic information will also become more widespread.

Avoiding hold-ups is the most effective way a satnav can help a driver save both time and fuel, and devices are getting better at doing this. By taking data from special FM radio signals or via a built-in cellular-data connection, satnavs can take account of current traffic conditions into route calculations. The actual traffic data can come from a variety of sources including traffic sensors, the anonymous monitoring of mobile phones moving along stretches of road and information collected (also anonymously) from satnavs in other vehicles. Access to real-time data will generally mean paying for a subscription, but it turns a navigation device into a live information system. This makes it useful not just when you do not know where you are going but also on familiar journeys, when you want to know which of several possible routes you should take.

The classic motorway dilemma provides an example. An overhead sign gives warning of an accident ahead. You could turn off now but you might then get stuck in a busy town because so many other drivers are following the same alternative route. Or you could stay on the motorway in the hope that the tailback will soon clear—only to find that it has got worse. A satnav that knows the average speeds on particular roads at different times of the day, as many now do, does a good job of predicting which route is the fastest under normal circumstances. But one that can also use real-time data would be able to tell that the traffic on the alternative route, say, is moving at a snail’s pace while vehicles near the site of the accident are beginning to pick up speed, suggesting that the emergency services have started clearing the road. So it could then advise you to stay on the motorway.

Keep on going
Journey planning using a satnav usually allows for a limited choice: you can pick the fastest route, the shortest, the one that avoids motorways or a route that passes through or avoids a particular point. Future devices will learn about a driver’s preferences and adjust accordingly. MyDrive, for example, is a piece of software developed by Journey Dynamics, a British company, for satnav providers. It analyses the behaviour of an individual driver on different types of road. Some people always prefer motorways and drive quickly, others would much rather drive on local roads and some like to keep moving even if that means a long detour around a traffic jam. Understanding a driver’s foibles can ensure that the right sort of route is chosen, and can also double the accuracy of the predicted time of arrival, says John Holland, the company’s chief executive.

Satnavs with built-in data connections are also becoming more widespread, making other new things possible. TomTom, which is based in the Netherlands, lets users of its systems update maps and add points of interest. With two-way communication, satnavs no longer have to be taken out of the car and plugged into a computer to update their maps. “The screen becomes a connected computer in the car,” says Mark Gretton, TomTom’s chief technology officer. He expects other companies to develop software that can be downloaded by satnavs, just as small programs, or apps, can be added to mobile phones.

Another trend is towards greater integration between the satnav and the car’s other systems. Bosch, a German car-component company, is working on a satnav that can give warning of a sharp bend ahead, for example. If the car is being driven too fast, it can prepare the brakes to slow the vehicle swiftly when the driver realises—or pretension the seat belts if he does not.

But such features are only possible with built-in satnav systems. These can be far more convenient than portable units, but they also tend to be much more expensive. Portable devices cost less and are easier to update, but they often get stolen from cars. The distinction may be starting to blur, however. Portable satnavs that plug into vehicle-information systems are starting to appear. And TomTom has done a deal that allows its devices to be specified as the built-in satnav in Renault cars.

All these innovations should give drivers more choice and flexibility. There is still plenty of scope, it seems, for satnavs to learn new tricks.

Comment

I was also thinking that this could be a Green tool to avoid traffic snafus and wasted gasoline at red lights, etc. I was going to get a factory-installed GPS with my Prius but they wanted $900 to do it. I can get a good GPS that is portable for $300 or less. it may just be a GUY thing, but I think these are pretty cool.