Karnataka - Bangalore

Lost your way? Just switch on the GPS

Rasheed Kappan

Now you do not have to stop and ask for directions in Bangalore

BANGALORE: Navigating the city's labyrinthine streets could soon get much easier, even if you are floored by its ever-changing one-ways and other traffic rules.

Global Positioning System (GPS)-based navigation tools customised for vehicles are poised to flood the Bangalore markets soon. The next time you take out your car, be ready to be led all the way to your destination by a well-informed digital voice.

GPS-equipped cars and other personal vehicles are today quite common on American and European roads. But the slow growth of Geographic Information System (GIS) city maps in India meant the GPS navigation tools had to wait to make a mark here. Bangalore could now emerge as one of the first cities in the country with GPS fitted vehicles, with at least two firms ready to line up their navigation products in a big way.

Technically, the GPS system designed for use in automobiles is called the "Automotive Navigation System." This system uses position data to locate the user on a road in the GPS gadget's map database. Using the road database, the gadget can then provide directions to other locations along roads also in its database.

Launch

To be launched in Bangalore in the first week of July, the Exclusive Navigation System is one such gadget. With a display screen of 3.5 inch X 4.3 inch, the system has GIS maps of 60 Indian cities in its database. Bangalore's streets are covered comprehensively, with information about petrol outlets, ATMs, hospitals, restaurants and more.

Once you switch on the device, the screen will unfold a three-dimensional or 2D map, with arrows defining the direction / route to your destination.

With the Bangalore traffic police always experimenting by creating and changing one-way rules, drivers could often lose their sense of direction. People behind the navigation system assure that every time a one-way rule is changed, the users could update the system by downloading the new directions from its website.

Extras

The navigation device could double as video screens to watch films, photo albums, MP3 players or even a Bluetooth-enabled hands-free car kit that lets you make and receive calls with just a touch of the screen. Some devices now available in the European and American markets could speak as many as 36 languages in over 50 different voices. In a few months, you could hear speakers in Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam direct you across the country.

The GPS, on which the navigation devices are based, is currently the only fully functional Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). It utilises a network of at least 24 medium earth-orbit satellites that transmit precise radio signals to help a GPS receiver determine its location, speed and direction. Add a map to it and you get a perfect GPS navigator.

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