A new GPS navigation system promises to deliver driving instructions in a more understandable, ‘human’ form.
Natural Guidance is due to be unveiled by Navteq at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin today. The technology delivers navigational directions that reference landmarks such as shops and bars instead of simply referring to road names, delivering more natural sounding instructions such as ‘turn left after the pub’ or ’straight on at the traffic lights’. By using recognizable points of reference instead of talking in metres or feet, Navteq hope the instructions provided by their devices will be easier to understand.
Describing the technology Tiffany Treacy, NAVTEQ senior vice president of product management, said:
Natural Guidance provides the kind of directions we crave as humans. It challenges the man-machine status quo of how navigation systems have worked for years by finally enabling the kind of guidance that sounds like it’s coming from a friend who is riding along with you. This is a revolutionary first step toward more natural and ultimately more personalized experiences.
The Natural Guidance software employs some fairly sophisticated algorithms to ensure that the visual cues that it references are relevant. For example, the software takes into account the size of the landmark and the direction the user is approaching from as well as more subtle factors such as the time of year, as trees or bushes may obscure some landmarks in the summer months.
The technology is currently available for Berlin, Chicago, London, LA, New York, National Capital region of Delhi, Munich and Paris. Navteq plans to role out support for cities across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific by the end of next year.
Source:http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/navteq-aims-to-bring-humanity-to-gps-directions-2010093/
