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At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Volkswagen and Google presented the first prototype of their brainchild, a completely different kind of navigation system packed with unheard of new features. The system is so advanced that it’s been touted by the media as the closest thing to a “virtual reality travel information” system. On the surface, the new development works and functions like a touch-screen navigation system. You enter in data through the on-screen keyboard, while the interface also controls the stereo, and other functions, like most modern all-in-one media centres. Of course, not to be outdone by what’s currently on the market, the system provides a live feed of information about the traffic, and the weather.

But here’s where things get more interesting. Volkswagen and Google have figured out a way of getting the Google Earth data onto the in-car navigation screen in a photorealistic 3D manner. Techno-garble aside, this means that what you see out the windows of your car - the horizon, the buildings and landscape surrounding you - is displayed accordingly in 3D graphics, from any angle, all thanks to a new kind of graphics card developed by nVidia. Not only is the idea of being able to see around you extremely cool, but the real advantage is that it gives drivers and passengers inside the car a better sense of orientation and direction.

If providing realistic graphics weren’t enough, the system has “open end” capabilities which link it to Google’s internet search engine through the same on-board telematics that control the navigation system. “Open end” allows the navigation system to provide drivers with valuable data to help plan routes and trips, with the means not only to display road-side rest stops, hotels, shopping centres and tourist’s guides, but their hours of operations and any specials or events they may be promoting. The system even has the capability to show the price of fuel at gas stations and the times of movies at theaters, all in real time and on demand. Also, because the system constantly updates itself, unlike a DVD or a CD, you’ll never be out of luck when new roads are built or old roads are closed.

Though Volkswagen and Google insist that the new navigation system is just a demonstration, and that the two brands are still developing it, chances are it’ll come to market, mind you, it won’t be for some time. Everything about the system, from the type of data it uses to the information itself, to the system used to transmit it, to the graphics, are simply beyond the capabilities of today’s technology, but the two firms are hard at work developing the goods to make this dream a reality. As far as in-car navigation goes, there’s plenty to look forward to with VW-Google’s navigation system, for road journeymen (and journeywomen), tech-savvy car fans, and everyday people alike.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 14th, 2006 at 1:23 pm and is filed under Tech, Volkswagen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.