about-electronics.eu

Gizmodo: Here’s one from left field: you know how your car’s navigation console locks itself when in motion, whether or not there’s a passenger to safely operate it? Apple, of all people, wants to fix that.

In a patent filing recently published and dug up by Apple Insider, Apple lays out various methods, including weight, proximity and biometric sensors, for detecting a passenger in the front seat, and then allowing he or she to operate the nav while the car is in motion.

It goes even further, though, by specifying means for the system to identify exactly who is touching it via biometric sensors, and then grant them access or not depending on pre-set safety settings.

So if you don’t want your 16 year old kid using the nav at all while in motion, just thumbprint him and program your Apple GPS.

Wait, what, Apple GPS? While apple has patented numerous techniques for pairing gadgets to cars, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one that was so specifically geared toward an in-car device. Innnnteresting.

Although this could obviously describe a way for a turn-by-turn iPhone 3.0 app to behave in-car. So like all patent filings, which are written in a language so obscure as to make reading and parsing by anyone who is not a patent lawyer, take this with some skepticism. But as a concept, sounds kind of interesting—is the real iDrive coming?

read more

Engadget: It’s a meme that never gets old, wouldn’t you agree? As the world gathers ’round again to chuckle at an all-too-faithful GPS user in the UK, we’re looking this time at a man who literally drove his BMW to the brink of disaster while following his sat nav down a skinny, steep lane on the way to imminent death Todmorden.

As the story goes, his navigation system apparently told him to drive directly into a fence just before the road fell off of a cliff, and considering that the 43 year old bloke uses the GPS for his job, you’d think he would have the whole “follow the leader” thing down pat.

At any rate, the poor fellow did manage to survive, though he won’t soon shake the “driving without due care and attention” charge. Nor the embarrassment.

read more

BBC News: A satellite navigation system made specifically to assist disabled drivers has been made by a UK company. Gowrings Mobility – a specialist in adapted vehicles – is marketing the BB Nav, developed by Navevo.

The system contains a database of Blue Badge parking bays, accessible toilets, disabled-friendly petrol stations and accessible accommodation. It covers 150 major towns and cities around the UK including all of the London boroughs.

“Many disabled travellers worry about the uncertainty of not knowing where to park… and consequently do not venture further afield than their own local area,” said Janet Seward, sales and marketing director at Gowrings. “We want to make disabled travellers’ lives and journeys much smoother, easier and more spontaneous.”

The BB Nav grades car parks according to their level of accessibility and also has the location of more than 10,000 on-street parking bays. The device is also programmed with the varying parking regulations for Blue Badge holders as they move from one local authority area to another. Other “points of interest” (POIs) include accessible beaches, shopping facilities, toilets and hotels.

read more

Navigadget: We’re sure you’ve heard of stories of huge trucks trying to drive through tiny towns, or hitting overhead bridges because of blindly following their GPS navigation systems.Pronav is here to fix those problems with maps and data designed for oversize vehicles. It considers your vehicle’s dimensions, as well as any legal or road network restrictions.

You actually enter your vehicle’s dimensions including; width, height, weight, weight per axle and length, as well the goods you are carrying (normal, corrosive/explosive) and ProNav will calculate a route optimized to your vehicles parameters and ensure you are not confronted with any restrictions that are not suitable for your vehicle or cargo.

In addition it can provide warning information such steep hills, sharp bends, and even crosswind areas.

The device is currently only available in the U.K. and comes with comprehensive database of London loading bays (including red route bays) which you can easily find around your destination and route directly to. Also included is a database of London cafes that serve breakfast for under £5, as well as a national database of HGV gas stations.

A nice final touch is that you can switch your ProNav into a regular GPS navigation system to provide you with regular street level navigation where you can’t go with your truck…

read more

Reuters: A new tracking system to pinpoint people inside smoked-filled buildings has been developed in a move that should slash the risks faced by fire-fighters.French aerospace company Thales said on Wednesday its Indoor Positioning System (IPS) was aimed initially at helping fire services although it could also be used by the police and armed forces.

Eventually, it could also be applied in the consumer market and offered as an additional service with GPS-enabled cell phones, allowing users to navigate around shopping malls or airports.

The IPS system — effectively an indoor form of satellite navigation (sat-nav) — was developed at the company’s technical laboratory in Reading, west of London.

read more

Unbeatable: The Panasonic CN-GP50N is a unique portable satellite navigation system with some fantastic features including Bluetooth and an enormous 5inch screen.

So, a widescreen monitor in your car sounds too good to be true, but here it is! OK, it might not be able to show the latest Blu-ray or HD DVD movie, but it will give you detailed instructions of how to get to your destination. The 5 inch wide display is a touch screen and GUI (Graphical User Interface) as well as having Voice Command so you can programme your journey whilst driving without compromising safety.

The CN-GP50N supports Bluetooth capable mobile phones and accepts transfer of mobile contact lists as well as valuable points of interest information. It is also able to display still images stored on SD Memory cards.

There is a vast coverage over Europe and 37 European countries have been included with over 1.7 million points of interest as well as postal codes and more. Maps can be easily updated by using the CN-GP50N’s SD memory card or alternatively the USB lead to a PC for fast and simple download.

Other useful features include Lane Assistant, Speed Information, Speed Camera Information, GPS Assist and Real-Time Traffic Information Ready.

read more

The Register: Sat nav technology has been blamed for many wrongdoings – from lorries turning sleepy villages into scenes of HGV chaos, to directing owners of prestige vehicles into rivers.

But an apparent lack of sat nav technology, or conceivably another example of its misuse, led to the late arrival of Premiership leaders Arsenal for a game at lowly Middlesbrough on Sunday, where they subsequently slumped to a shock 2-1 defeat.

Arsene Wenger’s team turned in a poor performance that saw their Premiership lead trimmed to one point.

Ironically, Boro’s sponsor is sat nav manufacturer Garmin.

read more

BBC News: A majority of EU transport ministers have approved the multi-billion euro Galileo satellite navigation project.The decision was made without the backing of Spain, which had demanded that it host a ground station for the network of 30 orbiting satellites.

Ministers had until the end of year to reach an agreement. The system is supposed to be in operation by 2013.

Questions remain about its cost but supporters say it will create jobs and cut dependence on the US GPS service.

The Commission had said that if agreement was not reached by the end of the year, the project would essentially be dead.

read more

Information Week Digital Life Blog: Microsoft is reported to be looking to acquire Garmin, the navigation system company.

There are a few reasons. Let’s start with the most immediate and obvious: cars. Microsoft has a system called Sync, a $395 (around €280) option that’s going to be offered in Fords, Lincolns, and Mercurys, starting with the 2008 Ford Focus.

The system uses Bluetooth and USB; does hands-free calling and voice-activated music selection; reads text messages aloud; can sync up with iPods, cell phones, and a variety of other devices; has steering wheel controls and a dashboard screen; and may, in later models, allow drivers to create spoken text messages and e-mails.

Garmin already has partnerships with both Microsoft and Ford, offering features such as updated gas prices, weather conditions and forecasts, and dynamic trip routing based on traffic and construction, stemming from a partnership with MSN.

The system offered in Fords includes Bluetooth capability and an MP3 player, reminiscent of Sync.

Despite a recent dip, Garmin’s also seen its stock more than double since the beginning of the year and recently increased annual earnings expectations above than the already higher-than-expected initial estimates. But mobile may be where Microsoft really sees the interest.

Last week, Nokia announced it was buying Navteq for $8.1 billion. InformationWeek’s Richard Martin wrote last week that the Navteq deal might be as much about location-based services in smartphones as it is about any of the more common uses of GPS navigation today.

Microsoft’s been working hard recently to get Windows Mobile onto as many phones as possible, and navigation technology could be important for the future of that strategy.

read more

Venues: Tourism agency VisitBritain has signed a new partnership with TomTom, to put points of interest (POIs), such as quality assessed accommodation, attractions and tourist information centres, onto TomTom’s satellite navigation systems.

The fruit of the collaboration is a unique download service that combines all relevant information in an ultimate ‘on the road’ tourism kit.

Business and domestic visitors to the UK can easily access and transfer this information to a TomTom device through a unique ‘Add-to-my-TomTom’ button on the website.

The details include the best route to over 5,000 attractions, 17,000 types of accommodation and 500 tourist information centres.

Specific icons will appear on screen when visitors draw near to the relevant attractions, tourist information centres and accommodation.

read more

The Register: Fujitsu Siemens is to pull out of the PDA and GPS business by the end of the year to focus its mobile computing efforts on notebooks and tablets, the company admitted last week.

FS currently offers a range of handhelds under its Pocket Loox brand, the line-up divided into traditional PDAs with integrated GPS and Wi-Fi, and Blackberry-style devices with integrated phones and email-friendly micro-keyboards.

However, the range hasn’t been updated since the July 2006 launch of the N100 and N110 consumer-oriented GPS PDAs. And now further updates are even less likely.

An FS spokeswoman last week confirmed an earlier report from German trade paper Channel Partner that the company will quit the market this year.

The reason? Demand for PDAs is in decline, and FS expects smartphones to deliver all the functionality once provided solely by wireless handelds. Of course, FS’ Pocket Loox T800 series is arguably just such a smartphone, but popular though it may have been, it hasn’t been sufficiently successful for the company to consider retaining it as the basis for a smartphone strategy.

read more

TWICE: Garmin’s profits soared in its second quarter, ended June 30, with revenue up 72 percent as prices on personal navigation devices (PNDs) declined more slowly than expected.

Total revenue reached $742 million, up from $433 for the quarter last year. In the automotive/mobile segment, revenue increased 99 percent to $508 million on the strength of sales of the Garmin Nuvi and C series, said the company.

The company anticipates overall growth for its automotive/mobile GPS sector to reach 80 percent for the year.

read more