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New GPS Navigator Using 'Wisdom of the Crowds'
posted by Satri
on Monday October 22, @10:13AM
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from the see-wisdom-in-my-driving-habits dept.
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from the see-wisdom-in-my-driving-habits dept.
Slashdot discuss a new GPS navigation system which relies on 'wisdom of the crowds'. Their summary explains it more clearly: "The New York Times is running an article on Dash Express, a new navigation system for automobiles that not only receives GPS location data, but broadcasts information about its travels. Information is passed back to Dash over a cellular data network, where it is shared with other users to let them know if there are slowdowns or traffic jams on the road ahead. The real benefit of the system isn't apparent until enough units are collecting data in a given area - so Dash distributed over 2,000 prototype units to test drivers in 25 large cities." All Points Blog also links to a Wired article on Dash. In related stories below, I included many previous stories which aim at real-time traffic info from Nav Systems.
Related Stories
Application Domains: Peer to Peer Networking for Road Traffic
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Slashdot discuss the advent of peer to peer networking for road traffic. Their summary: "The BBC is reporting on some German research to allow the exchange of information between road vehicles about travel conditions using peer to peer networking (I assume some sort of mesh). Cars or bikes experiencing problems would pass data that would ripple down the chain of vehicles behind them. 'For example, cars could spot oil on the road by combining temperature readings with wheel traction information. A wheel slipping on the road even though the temperature was not low enough for frost or ice would suggest oil or another slippery substance was present. Once a car detected this sort of danger, information about it would be generated and passed down the line of vehicles approaching the patch of oil.'"
Application Domains: Inrix Predictive and Real-Time Traffic Service from Multiple Sources
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All Points Blog discuss a new service by Inrix which provide predictive and real-time traffic service for Windows Mobile devices. This site indicates which information is used: "Inrix acquires real-time and historical sensor data from hundreds of public and private sources including anonymous, real-time GPS probe data from more than 625,000 commercial fleet, delivery and taxi vehicles; toll tag data; and occupancy and speed measurements from Department of Transportation sensor networks. Additionally, the Inrix Smart Dust Network aggregates real-time incidents and hundreds of market-specific criteria that affect traffic – such as construction and road closures, sporting and entertainment events, school schedules and weather forecasts." See the numerous related stories below.
Application Domains: TomTom Launches MapShare for Real-Time Map Corrections 2 comments
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All Points Blog discuss the new service by TomTom called MapShare, which allow users to share corrections to the TomTom maps. Some screenshots here. From the press release: " Via TomTom HOME, TomTom Map Share™ users also receive all map improvements made by others, making their maps as dynamic as the world they live in.
TomTom Map Share™ is a proprietary map improvement technology unique to TomTom, which enables users to easily and instantly improve maps. TomTom users can respond in real time to changes in the road network and correct the maps on their TomTom devices accordingly. Thanks to the smart user interface, it is easy to make improvements, such as to mark blocked or unblocked streets, reverse one way traffic or insert new street names, which will instantly take effect."
TeleAtlas launched a similar initiative called MapInsight last summer. Recently, Tele Atlas enriched its content by using historical traffic speed information.
Industry: Google Book Search and Real-Time Traffic in Google Earth, and Much More...
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The official Google Lat Long blog informs us the Google Book Search feature has found its way to Google Earth (previously on Slashgeo), in the mean time, they also announced real-time traffic directly in Google Earth. From the first announcement: "Did you ever wonder what Lewis and Clark said about your hometown as they passed through? What about if any other historical figures wrote about your part of the world? Earlier this year, we announced a first step toward geomapping the world's literary information by starting to integrate information from Google Book Search into Google Maps. Today, the Google Book Search and Google Earth teams are excited to announce the next step: a new layer in Earth that allows you to explore locations through the lens of the world's books." Ogle Earth shares what he thinks of the new features, including screenshots.
I take this opportunity to share a few older Google-related stories not yet featured on Slashgeo; a tutorial to create QuickTime VR panoramas out of Google Earth. The previous announcement on rush hour taken into account when evaluating directions within Google Maps. And finally, the inclusion of sponsored links capabilities in the Google Maps API, allowing you to display Google Ads on your Google Maps. See also related stories below.
GPS News: Dash, SatNav on the Windshield and More 1 comment
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Here's a collection of recent GPS-related news items. First, the crowdsourcing GPS system named Dash recently discussed is now available for pre-order. From Engaget: "Compared to your usual, run of the mill GPS, whole connected navigator experience was not dissimilar from the jump between going from a VCR to a TiVo -- which is why we think maybe, just maybe, people might actually want to pay for service with this thing. Of course, the downside for dash is most people won't even realize what an amazing boon these kinds of features really are until they've taken one home and discovered it first hand out in the world." Very Spatial discuss a GPS navigation system which projects information on your windshield. Here' a very short entry on 3D buildings displayed on your SatNav. Here's another entry on the development of indoor positioning systems.
Dash Express Now Shipping: As cool as it sounded!
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Engadget has a great review on the now shipping Dash Express portable GPS unit. It seems every bit as cool as it sounds, but the price may leave your pocketbook a little light. Will the Community features and Internet connectivity cause you to open your wallet?
"Just like TiVo, the Dash Express is best-in-class at what it does, but that monthly fee is going to be a deal-breaker for a lot of people. If $600 bought you the Express and lifetime service, we'd be all over this thing; for now, we're going to say that it's revolutionary enough for road warriors and golden-pocketed early adopters to buy immediately, but we'll eagerly await the day when the power of the Dash community makes us willingly pay to join the club."
CNN Demoes Dash Networking GPS
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The Earth Is Square blog, has an article featuring the CNN video review of this product. From their summary : "Found this CNN video on the Dash Networking GPS. What made this GPS interesting for me was the traffic updating and the finding gas stations and sorting by the latest price. But the "downfall" of this GPS with the traffic conditions is that you need multiple vehicles in the area also using the Dash GPS so that you get a detailed traffic report."
This story was also covered in this article. For more information, and to see the video, head on over to the Earth Is Square blog.
This story was also covered in this article. For more information, and to see the video, head on over to the Earth Is Square blog.
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