Volkswagen teams with Google on navigation system
Feb 3, 2006 gps navigation
Volkswagen AG’s American unit on Friday said it is working on a prototype vehicle which features Google Inc.’s satellite mapping software to give drivers a bird’s eye view of the road ahead.
The two companies are working with the graphics chipmaker Nvidia Corp. to build an in-car navigation map system and a three-dimensional display so passengers can recognize where they are in relation to the surrounding topography.
Volkswagen of America Inc., working through its Electronics Research Laboratory in Palo Alto, California, in Silicon Valley, is working on other advancements, including automatic personalized information updates for the navigation systems.
The car manufacturer showed off the prototype car at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.
A spokesman for the automaker said there were no definite plans to use the technology inside cars. But the collaboration between the automaker and Google shows the progress the Web search leader is making expanding beyond the computer realm… reuters
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February 4th, 2006 at 7:06 am
[...] Via Navigadget [...]
February 4th, 2006 at 9:30 pm
[...] Via Navigadget. [...]
February 6th, 2006 at 9:04 pm
[...] [...]
March 27th, 2006 at 8:53 am
[...] In case you haven’t seen it, CNet has a video of the new navigation system that is being developed by Google and VW. I specially like the 3D ‘play’ option of your route. We’ve had post about this loong time ago. Google Earth navigation To make GPS navigation more usable, VW worked with Google to incorporate Google Earth. Instead of looking at a flat, 2D map, the driver sees a 3D representation of the world with a photorealistic overlay. At the ERL demo I watched, an engineer entered a destination, and the point of view–which uses the entire globe as its default–suddenly started to fly in, getting closer and closer to the surface until streets and terrain were visible. In one part of the demo, I was shown the Grand Canyon, which has a complete photo overlay. The demo also included a destination in Manhattan, which showed how useful this system could be; having individual buildings represented on the map makes it easier for the driver to get oriented. ERL also worked an Nvidia graphical chipset into the system to make the maps look really good. On the business side, Google could use the system to sell sponsored positions in a point-of-interest search. For example, if a driver searched for hotels nearby, the system could highlight or offer more information for hotels that paid for position. The engineers at ERL anticipate that other Internet companies with mapping services would probably want to partner with other car companies. [...]
August 9th, 2007 at 6:14 am
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article swagen teams with Google on navigation system — NaviGadget, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.
May 19th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
This gadget will be the perfect accessorie for the VW. Google has been talking about this for a while…so pull the string Google.
September 4th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Wow that actually looks really cool, guessing it is going to be a pretty pricey option though. Especially if they use a high end graphics card from nvidia