Navigation Systems Introduce the Car Age to the Space Age
1 July 1998
Navigation Systems Introduce the Car Age to the Space Age; Navigation Technologies Points Nav Systems in the Right Direction
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--July 1, 1998--What do the navigation systems offered in North America by Acura, BMW, Land Rover, Lexus, Mercedes, Oldsmobile and Porsche have in common?They all rely on the NavTech(R) Database for their route guidance information. The NavTech Database is used by every in-vehicle navigation system in North America and the majority of systems in Europe that offer turn-by-turn route guidance.
Navigation Technologies Corporation (NavTech) expects a number of additional carmakers to launch navigation options using its map CD's in the next two model years. Availability of navigation systems extends beyond OEM's to include the rental car industry and aftermarket systems available at popular consumer electronic stores and specialty mobile electronic stores nationwide.
"A major catalyst behind this new growth in North America is that there is sufficient map coverage completed," said Mike Walsh, President, NavTech North America.
"Carmakers needed ample turn-by-turn coverage in order to successfully offer navigation options. NavTech's detailed map coverage currently includes more than half the US population, over 3,000 cities in North America and most major tourist destinations."
Detailed coverage effectively means that the map database knows more about the road than the driver. It contains precise navigation characteristics for streets, significant cartographic features like lakes and parks, and extensive Points of Interest listings in more than 40 categories, including restaurants, gas stations, hospitals and hotels.
In the database, each block can have up to 150 pieces of information attached to it -- every characteristic someone would need in order to thoroughly describe a segment of road -- directionality (one-ways); address ranges; turn restrictions, both time-of-day and day-of-week; primary and alternate street names; vehicle-type restrictions and elevation, among others.
Areas not yet covered in this detail are covered at a level equivalent to the roads featured on a AAA map.
Navigation systems are currently sold in Japan, Europe and North America. Japan is the oldest and subsequently the largest market. Systems have been available there since 1987 and in just ten years systems went from being a gadget to a popular consumer electronic mainstay with more than a million shipped in 1997.
The European market follows with navigation shipments up 100% from last year. Navigation entered the North American market in 1994 and the trend is following that of Japan and Europe. Forecasts for GPS-based road navigation systems project an expanding market into the next century.
About Navigation Technologies Corporation
NavTech is a global company recognized as the premier supplier of superior quality, continuously updated route guidance map databases for both North America and Europe. The NavTech Database contains an extensive and precise digital representation of the road network that provides the depth, accuracy and coverage needed to enable turn-by-turn, door-to-door route guidance.
Applications using the NavTech Database include in-vehicle navigation products, fleet management systems, personal navigation products, web sites and online services, kiosk-based directions, advanced traffic and traveler information systems and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
NavTech headquarters: Corporate, Rosemont, Illinois USA; North America, Sunnyvale, California USA; Europe, Best, The Netherlands. In addition, NavTech has a customer support center in Yokohama, Japan and more than 70 field offices and 800 employees worldwide.
Note to editors: For additional information on NavTech, please visit the NavTech Web site at http://www.navtech.com.