The navigation market continues to expand past merely providing directions — even if drivers are getting too reliant on their GPS devices.
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INRIX’s traffic mapping
MapQuest, the online mapping site, announced a new partnership which allows them to offer real-time satellite traffic information. The data is powered by INRIX, Inc., a company that also provides traffic information to Clear Channel, BMW, TomTom and Garmin.
This marks the first time that INRIX’s data has been offered for free. Google, Yahoo and LiveSearch also offer traffic data on their mapping sites but according to INRIX, the company has a wider national reach (they cover 110 cities and over 55,000 miles of road).
And while checking traffic on the Internet is different than having the same data while on the road, MapQuest expects that consumers will check the site before heading out, and in future releases, will use historical traffic data when planning trips. INRIX collects historical traffic data that can make predictions for traffic based on time of day and time of year.
“Getting from Point A to Point B is no longer enough,” INRIX president and CEO Bryan Mistele said. These new developments are turning navigational tools, whether online, hand-held or in-car, into tools that have “daily relevance.”
XM Satellite Radio premiered their newest real-time weather technology today, called NavWeather, which will initially be available on Acura’s 2009 TSX and RL. The satellite-based information is provided by Baron Services, which is the same company that provides data to the National Weather Service. The weather information is available for across the U.S., and will offer forecasts up to three days ahead.
When planning for a long trip, however, NavWeather takes climate conditions as well as traffic into account for route planning. Drivers within major metropolitan cities like New York and Los Angeles may be most concerned about traffic but XM executives found that for drivers outside those hubs, weather takes precedence.
