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 Finding your way when things get nasty
By Theo Boshoff
We rarely speak about in-car navigation systems, but now is the time, as experts at BMW Group Research and Technology are developing a system to help drivers when things get a bit nasty.
The developers are working on a navigation system for situations with poor visibility or unknown route destinations so that drivers are more confident behind the wheel when trying to navigate and find their destination.
Most navigation systems will tell you how to get to a specific location, but will not tell you the extra information, such as how to get to the multi-storey car park entrance closest to entrance number 4. This is what the developers at BMW are trying to rectify.
They, through the microNavigation research project and using the MBW 3 Series as the test car, are trying to create more detailed maps to show drivers exactly where to go or where to park in huge complexes – with information not covered by general road maps, thus going that step further.
As part of the development is a further extension of the system to out-of-car navigation, where users will be told exactly where to go from their cars to where they want to be, after which they will then be guided back to their cars again.
Carsten Isert, project manager for microNavigation at BMW Group Research and Technology, explains that drivers are able to download information about their destination in advance on their home PC. This information is then automatically transferred with the map data to the vehicle and incorporated into the system.
By using real-time information from networked cameras along with lane-specific positioning, GPS coordinates and map data, the system will be able to direct a driver via a specific route to an open parking spot closest to where the user wants to be.
According to Isert, it might be possible in future to download microMaps at any time while the driver is on the move.
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