| Trafficmaster’s
SmartNav is a car navigation system that uses a mobile phone
connection to replace a lot of the equipment usually associated
with sat-nav. The hardware still uses satellite positioning
so it knows where you are. It also knows how fast you are
going and best of all it has a database of Gatsos and speed
cameras. Er, sorry - ‘Accident Black spots’ as
indicated by Gatsos and speed cameras. The latest device can
also be linked into a stolen vehicle tracking system.
The substitution of a mobile phone for the
computer and CD system halves the price when compared to a
traditional nav system. It also works better and is easier
to use.
The one-button approach is one of the things that makes SmartNav
special. It’s like using carphones of the early 1980s.
These didn’t have a keypad. You just picked up the handset,
pressed the walkie-talkie type button and spoke to an operator.
You asked for the number and the operator put you through.
With SmartNav, too, you press one button and speak to an operator.
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The car sends the GPS position to the operator
at Trafficmaster by text message and the software at HQ works
out which road you are on. All you have to do is say where
you want to go. The operator enters this into the computer
system, which then works out the route and sends it as data,
like an email, to the car. The small computer in the car takes
the route and reads out instructions.
There is no screen, only a hidden speaker,
a mobile phone car kit microphone and one Trafficmaster button.
Since most cars have blanking plates for options which didn’t
come on your model, the button can usually be made to look
in keeping with the rest of the controls on the car.
Trafficmaster keeps a stock of suitably sized
and shaped buttons. Just having one button makes the unit
ideal for particularly smart cars where you don’t want
to spoil the look of the interior with third party hardware.
The button can even be out of sight under a seat! Indeed Trafficmaster
has looked at the possibility of putting a second button in
just such a position as a car-jacking protection.
The route which is downloaded into your car
takes into account the latest traffic conditions. This is
Trafficmaster’s forte. There are around 8000 miles of
roads in the UK, which are constantly monitored by Trafficmaster’s
sensors. On motorway bridges are simple infra-red sensors
that measure the speed of the cars below by bouncing a signal
off the front of the cars. On suburban roads, there are blue
poles containing digital cameras which read part of the number
plate.
The route which is downloaded into your car
takes into account the latest traffic conditions. This is
Trafficmaster’s forte. There are around 8000 miles of
roads in the UK, which are constantly monitored by Trafficmaster’s
sensors. On motorway bridges are simple infra-red sensors
that measure the speed of the cars below by bouncing a signal
off the front of the cars. On suburban roads, there are blue
poles containing digital cameras which read part of the number
plate.
Your connection to the Trafficmaster server
takes less than two minutes so you've not online all the time.
If, however, there is an accident which will block your route,
the Trafficmaster computer estimates where you are, calls
up to find out and then gives you a new, faster route. Of
course Trafficmaster doesn’t have sensors everywhere
so it uses a database of previous traffic for those roads.
The combination of all this information should
give you the optimum route for your journey. One of the greatest
weaknesses of all navigation systems is that maps are not
completely accurate. Even if they start off right, roads change,
there are one way systems implemented then the council changes
its mind or a mad Mayor chooses to block off half of Trafalgar
Square.
If you have a paper map you probably won’t
have changed it for about three years. With a CD based navigation
system the makers recommend that you buy annual updates. In
practice people tend to get the updates every couple of years
(just after getting lost due to an old map!).
But the updates are typically going to be
six months out of date and they are expensive, something around
£100. With the Trafficmaster server based system the
maps are regularly updated, and if they are wrong there is
a free phone number for customers to call in and correct it.
There are still some problems with roads being
wrongly categorised, in particular some bumpy farm tracks
that are shown as ‘b’ roads. This is a great short
cut if you have a Cayenne, not so good in a GT2.
The biggest difference between using a CD
based system and SmartNav is that with a CD system you type
in the details of where you want to go before you start driving.
With SmartNav the system takes a few seconds to get a fix
on you so you need to wait before pressing the dial button.
You can drive off and do this, but of course if you’ve
no idea of which way to turn to start the journey you don’t
have any directions to know which way to turn. On balance
it is usually nicer to start out and then get directions than
fiddle around before you leave.
GPS
Tracking | How
to Choose a GPS | GPS
Buying Tips For Technophobes |
GPS
Receivers Guide and Explanation |
Smartnav
Reviewed | How
Smartnav works |
