Automotive industry seeking electronic solutions to four main issues～Two Trends in Evolution of the Automotive Navigation Systems that Ensure In-Vehicle Comfort～
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Automotive industry seeking electronic solutions to four main issues
Part.3
Two Trends in Evolution of the Automotive Navigation Systems that Ensure In-Vehicle Comfort
When automotive navigation systems were first put into practical use in the 1980s, manufacturers worked on improving their basic functionalities and capabilities as navigation devices. These initial improvements included such additions as CD-ROM-operated map displays, GPS units for greater precision, automated route calculation, voice guidance and voice recognition features, and traffic congestion reports via VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System). In the next stage, the systems were enhanced with automotive entertainment functions by integrating them with car audio systems, adding DVD and video playback functions, and enabling them to receive digital TV broadcasts. And now they have morphed into devices that give voice directions and image information pertaining to in-vehicle comfort.
With these technical advances, the systems' basic functionalities and capabilities as stand-alone navigation systems can be said to have reached a substantially high level. And having acquired car entertainment functionalities as well, automotive navigation systems have now begun seeking a new direction to evolve in. Two directions for that evolution have come into view. One is a shift toward PNDs (personal navigation devices) that are simple, inexpensive, and can be taken out of the car. The other is in-vehicle information processing device, in the true sense of the name, that can single-handedly manage all in-vehicle information, including that related to the most basic vehicular function -- safety.
PNDs Rapidly Extending Their Reach
PND unit "NVA-VB6"
that Sony recently released
PNDs are generally defined as "low-cost, simple portable automotive navigation systems." Most PNDs are small, with screens measuring 4 inches or less, and inexpensive, with prices roughly one-third that of an ordinary automotive navigation system. In the Japanese market, where automotive navigation systems first came into widespread use, the demand for detailed, high-definition map information was traditionally strong, and engineering priority was given to enhancing the storage media from CDs to DVDs and to high-capacity HDDs. Consequently, PNDs did not gain much popularity in Japan until recently. However, automotive navigation system manufacturers are now venturing to release PNDs geared to the Japanese market, so the devices are gaining notice. Meanwhile, in Europe and the United States, demand for detailed map information is not so strong, and customers appreciate being able to remove a PND from the car and take it with them. As a result, PNDs occupy a large role in those automotive navigation system markets. Furthermore, more and more people envision that the low price of PNDs will help the devices to spread even in emerging markets such as the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). Often considered a lower-cost alternative to automotive navigation systems until recently, PNDs have begun showing signs of becoming mainstream in the global market in the future.
If PNDs do catch on in this way, such a trend will have a major impact on product development concepts in automotive navigation systems. Until now, manufacturers have worked to improve automotive navigation systems’ functionalities and performance while maintaining or enhancing added value. But if PNDs come to provide the basic capabilities of automotive navigation systems and thus become the backbone of the market, automotive navigation systems might experience a resultant drop-off in prices. In light of that possibility, it may be necessary not only for manufacturers of automotive navigation systems for the consumer market, but even more so for automobile manufacturers who offer navigation systems as a genuine factory option with their vehicles, to keep a close watch on the trends and marketability of PNDs. Depending on future market developments, automobile manufactures may need to recognize PNDs as a legitimate purchase option for customers seeking a genuine navigation system.
Automotive Navigation Systems Will Become the Core Devices for In-Vehicle Information, Including Safety
Demonstration of
"integrated instrument panel" by Toshiba
The ordinary automotive navigation systems which remain inside vehicles will likely evolve into something closer to in-vehicle information processing devices. These devices will gather all sorts of information, such as data streams and updates sent from traffic infrastructure systems about traffic signals and regulations, information about nearby stores that is sent as "area info" for a vehicle’s surrounding geographic location, and data signals from sensors mounted on the front and back of vehicles to measure the distance between vehicles. Then the device will display and announce all this information to drivers in an optimal way. As a natural progression, the device will come to serve as the base for a Driver Assistance System. It will undoubtedly be difficult to consolidate all these kinds of features into the automotive navigation system alone, but what manufacturers envision is actually linking the automotive navigation system with the information processing functionalities and various types of other data display functions for the vehicle as a whole. Put simply, the automotive navigation system will be responsible for processing all the information and relaying it to the driver.
At first glance, we are likely to view this sort of evolution as something that lies in the distant future, but in reality, an evolution along those lines has already started. As an example, Parking Assistance Systems that have already been put into practical use receive camera images of the area immediately surrounding the vehicle and display them on the automotive navigation system screen. There is also technology being developed that would link up with the automotive navigation system’s mapping information and adjust the direction of the headlights accordingly.
As this evolution approaches, the requirements for various automotive parts relating to automotive navigation systems are beginning to change. Probable future requirements include enhancing the processing capacity of the microprocessors used in the systems, boosting the working memory capacity, expanding the HDD capacity, and adopting large capacity media such as HD-DVDs. Also, the new systems will have to link the information traditionally displayed on the automotive navigation system with the various types of driving-related information displayed on the instrument panel, and to display large volumes of information to the driver in a way that’s easy to understand. And when this happens, the need will intensify for an “integrated instrument panel” that can display all those types of information on one panel.
These are the evolutions anticipated in automotive navigation system technology and the technological innovations being called for in the electronic parts that support it. As the three players who are involved in these changes -- automobile manufacturers, automotive navigation systems manufacturers, and electronic parts manufacturers -- join forces, rapid advances are likely to continue in the enhancement of automotive comfort and peace of mind.
