GPS saves me a lot of hassle. I’m certainly not a human compass, and — especially if traveling to an unfamiliar city — chances are I will get lost at least once if I don’t have a GPS device or very good directions. Looking around for street signs and calculating turns is fine, but what if your GPS was so smart it knew to turn at a specific building or shopping center?
That’s exactly what NAVTEQ and NNG are showing at CES. The iGo My way uses NAVTEQ Natural Guidance™ to give you directions in a more intuitive method, rather than the linear “turn right in 300 feet” option that so many of our GPS devices provide today. NAVTEQ has sported an iGo My way application for iPhones, but at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show they are branching out to enable iGo My way as the base application for standalone GPS units — significantly expanding their exposure and potential users.
Using iGo My way on their GPS unit, a driver would hear “turn right after passing the UPS store” or similar command that notes a specific area, store, or other landmark to make navigating much easier. The extra level of detail that NAVTEQ and NNG are introducing with the new iGo My way Beta demonstrations may be a good way to help keep drivers’ eyes focused on the road while providing directions — and that is always a good thing.
The standalone iGo My way feature is currently in beta, but given NNG’s partnership with over 140 hardware manufacturers worldwide you can expect to see these features becoming mainstays on your GPS very soon. Check out the full details after the jump.
NAVTEQ and NNG Show First Beta Application With NAVTEQ Natural Guidance™ at CESLAS VEGAS, Jan. 5, 2011 — NAVTEQ, the leading global provider of maps, traffic and location data enabling navigation, location-based services and mobile advertising around the world, will provide demonstrations of a beta navigation application, iGO My way. Created by NNG (formerly Nav N Go), the iGO My way application utilizes NAVTEQ Natural Guidance content to generate directions the way a friend does, rather than linear instructions.Using Las Vegas data, the application demonstrates how an end-user will receive their upcoming maneuver commands when Natural Guidance is utilized. Visitors to the booth will see routes that state “turn right before the tall white tower,” or “turn left before the Circle K,” which is a significant improvement to the “turn left in 300 feet” commands provided by current navigation systems.NAVTEQ Natural Guidance™, released for development in October 2010, was designed to enable guidance to sound like it is coming from a friend riding alongside of you. The product includes reference points that go beyond landmarks to include structures such as churches, parks and hospitals as well as traffic signals, signs and bridges. The descriptions can include relevant information such as the color and size of the structures and can incorporate the impact seasonality and direction of travel has on the relevancy of the cue. Prepositional phrases are then added to enable more contextual communication – e.g. “turn right after the yellow shop.”“Navigation is evolving rapidly with more user-friendly enhancements and NAVTEQ is excited to be leading with these next generation technologies,” stated Jeff Mize, executive vice president, Sales, NAVTEQ.With the Natural Guidance content, applications can provide end-users with turn-by-turn guidance that is more intuitive and practical. Research shows consumers desire more intuitive and practical directions because it is easier to follow and allows the user to keep their eyes on the road. NAVTEQ Natural Guidance enables applications to use recognizable and easily understandable points of reference close to the point where a driver may need to make a maneuver.“We are excited to demonstrate the NAVTEQ Natural Guidance solution to our partners at CES 2011,” says Tamas Vahl, CEO at NNG. “For a long time, we have been waiting to implement more descriptive guidance and were looking for suitable data. Thus, we very much welcomed the opportunity to create a more human and intuitive navigation together with NAVTEQ.”About NAVTEQNAVTEQ is the leading global provider of maps, traffic and location data (digital location content) enabling navigation, location-based services and mobile advertising around the world. NAVTEQ supplies comprehensive digital location content to power automotive navigation systems, portable and wireless devices, Internet-based mapping applications and government and business solutions. The Chicago-based company was founded in 1985 and has approximately 5100 employees located in 212 offices in 48 countries.About NNGNNG Llc. is one of the leading navigation solution providers for the Automotive, Personal and Wireless navigation industries, and offers fully customizable, on-board, 3D navigation applications to device manufacturers, auto makers and OEM brands that are custom built according to each customer’s needs. The core technology is based on the award-winning iGO My way software engine, already installed in millions of navigation devices throughout the world. Its first international product was launched in Germany at CeBIT 2006. Since then, NNG has formed partnerships with more than 140 hardware manufacturers worldwide. It provides reliable navigation solutions for more than 100 countries and in 45 different languages.To find out more about NNG please visit www.igomyway.com.
