Xplorer V8 is available as a white label application or as client-side libraries depending on the degree of customization required. deCarta’s L2 advanced local search technology is fully integrated into the platform to help users find destination addresses or local points of interest (POI).

deCarta navigation technology powers products such as GM OnStar, Ford Sync, INRIX, Appello, TCS and MotionX GPS Drive. With Xplorer V8, deCarta lets developers tightly integrate that functionality into their own applications or to build custom navigation applications. Examples of the use of Xplorer V8 include:

• Local search applications that offer route guidance to the search destination from a mobile phone or tablet.
• Branded navigation applications for global automotive companies.
• Mobile applications that display places of interest in a vector map display with smooth panning, rotation and zooming.
• Fleet management solutions that offer route guidance and tracking to ensure that drivers are directed efficiently to their destinations.

deCarta has already engaged with customers in each of these areas and expects to be announcing new partners for Xplorer V8 in the coming months.

The Xplorer V8 platform consists of a cloud-based service and a set of core client-side libraries that work together to provide a high-quality navigation experience.

The Xplorer V8 Navigation Cloud Services provide local search and navigation response based on deCarta’s geospatial technologies. deCarta hosts these services in global data centers in Santa Clara, London, Seoul, Beijing and Sydney.

The Xplorer V8 Core Libraries are integrated into client side applications.  They support three critical functions that can be used together as a group or individually as needed by the customer.

• Local Search:  Single line search and geocoding based on deCarta’s L2 technology.
• Guidance and Routing: Voice guided navigation, displayable as an overview, a list of directions or in turn-by-turn sequence.
• Map Display:  Vector-based maps that support turn-by-turn navigation, voice guidance, 3D display, immediate off route determination and rerouting.

Xplorer V8 libraries are compatible with all Android-based platforms for mobile devices, tablets and automotive embedded systems.  Apple iOS versions will be available at the end of June.

For companies interested in a turn-key navigation solution, Xplorer V8 is also available as a white-label navigation application that can be branded to match the customer’s needs.

“Industrial-grade navigation engines are extremely hard to develop. To meet the demanding consumer expectations, they have to perform well, with speed and accuracy across a wide range of circumstances,” said J. Kim Fennell, CEO of deCarta. “Xplorer V8 packages all of deCarta’s navigation experience and makes it available for application developers to integrate directly into their apps.”

Xplorer V8 is available immediately for deployment in North America and Australia, with Western Europe coverage coming in June.  Other countries will be included in the following months.

“Route Optimization has several benefits,” according to Eddie Bermudez, GPSTrackIt’s product manager. “It streamlines the route, which means less time is spent driving around. That saves fuel, which helps you run a greener fleet. It also saves money and improves customer service. Optimizing a route may allow for additional stops to be added.”

While optimizing a route on the system is one thing, it’s another whether the driver actually drove the route assigned. Fleet Manager’s Vehicle Trails feature can map out Ignition On/Off, Travel Start/Stop, and Drive events for a set date and period. The software has been modified with a route selection list and a button that displays the route superimposed over the vehicle trail.

“This enables a dispatcher or fleet manager to compare a driver’s plotted route to their vehicle trail,” Bermudez added. “Managers can determine whether drivers are making unscheduled or unauthorized stops.”

For more information about GPSTrackIt, their new features, or their Fleet Manager vehicle tracking system, visit the website.

TomTom has also launched its new navigation engine, NavKit.

“Where navigation used to be about getting people to unfamiliar destinations, we are now empowering drivers with easy access to the information they need to make the smartest driving decisions, every day,” said Corinne Vigreux, managing director of TomTom Consumer. “We have completely redesigned the PND to become an essential daily driving tool. By providing easy access to our world class TomTom Traffic and enabling drivers to see more than just the road ahead, drivers will feel on top of their journey like never before.”

Drivers can easily access the travel information they need via a high-resolution, capacitive touchscreen, TomTom said. A new Interactive Map responds and scales to touch. Drivers can  zoom in and out to find and explore places on the map with their fingertips and tap on the map to get an instant route to a destination.

New NavKit Engine

TomTom’s navigation engine, NavKit, will power all future TomTom navigation products and be available for licensing to automotive and enterprise customers. The configurable component architecture has been designed to enable rapid integration. NavKit has programming interfaces for adding a customised user interface, porting to any operating system and integrating navigation services. As a result, the development of a connected navigation system on any device platform becomes far quicker and simpler, TomTom said.

The new NavKit engine incorporates all the navigation logic of an on-board turn-by-turn navigation application. Every element has been enhanced to deliver an improved user experience including route planning, free text search, 2D map browsing and 3D guidance view, map-matched positioning and real-time guidance, TomTom said.

“The automotive industry’s next challenge is to create a seamless connected car experience,” said Harold Goddijn, CEO at TomTom. “To help our customers achieve this, we created NavKit, a flexible, future-proof navigation platform. NavKit makes the creation of connected navigation solutions easier and faster than ever before.”

NavKit’s architecture will allow customers and industry partners to replace components in a modular way. Its new routing engine achieves faster and more accurate dynamic routing, both on TomTom’s maps and on Navigation Data Standard (NDS) maps. Additionally, it provides better routes around traffic and fully supports TomTom Traffic, Version 6.0, including incident duration predictions and jam tail warnings. The new free text search engine provides easier and faster address and POI search. A new map visualization engine greatly improves 2D map browsing and introduces a 3D guidance view.

TomTom GO Features

The new TomTom GO series also comes with Lifetime TomTom Traffic. TomTom’s world-class traffic information pinpoints exactly where delays start and end, helping drivers to get to their destinations faster. Drivers can choose to connect to TomTom Traffic in one of two ways, either via Smartphone Connected or Always Connected. Smartphone Connected devices are ready to receive TomTom Traffic by connecting to a smartphone via Bluetooth. Smartphone Connected uses an existing smartphone data plan to access TomTom Traffic, as well as other services like TomTom Speed Cameras.

Always Connected devices offer the simplest way to receive TomTom Traffic straight out of the box, TomTom said. With connectivity built-in and with no additional costs for roaming, drivers can access TomTom Traffic and other services, including TomTom Speed Cameras.

3D Maps bring buildings and landmarks to life so that drivers always know exactly where they are.

The new TomTom GO range has a simplified product line-up. Customers can select their preferred screen size, choosing from a 4.3″, 5″ or 6″ model; then decide how they prefer to receive their TomTom Traffic information, either via Smartphone Connected or Always Connected.

Additional TomTom GO Features

Route Bar: Essential traffic and travel information at a glance. The Route Bar shows precise traffic and speed camera information on the road ahead.

Quick Search: Drivers can find their destination faster with intuitive search results. Quick Search starts finding destinations as soon as the driver starts typing.

My Places: Drivers can see their favourite locations on the map and personalise their map with My Places. This makes it easier to find and navigate to favourite locations again and again.

Lifetime Maps: Always drive with the latest map. For the life of the product, drivers can download four or more full updates of the map onto the device, every year. Drivers receive all updates to the road network, addresses and Points of Interest.

Speed Cameras (three month trial): Drivers can drive in a more relaxed way, receiving alerts for speed cameras ahead. These timely warnings increase drivers’ awareness of local speed limits and help to save money on speeding fines. As part of TomTom’s global driving community, drivers will benefit from an advanced and highly accurate warning service.

The TTM Type B is a self-powered peel-and-place product family with a multi-year internal battery power source. Smart energy consumption algorithms in conjunction with Telit’s energy efficient GE865-QUAD module, which is fully certified by mobile network operators worldwide, allow PayGo to deploy the TTM Type B family in any regional market its customers offer auto insurance, Telit said.

The TTM Type B family incorporates a feature set designed to address specific insurance industry application requirements beyond basic UBI including distance traveled, minutes of use, trip start and end time and geo-zones where vehicle was driven in a continuous data collection stream. It is also able to notify appropriate service centers in real time about crashes and crash location, and to provide trip summaries (time, distance, etc.) via text message for each trip as well as curfew violations (time and geo-zone). The PayGo device is packaged in a cellphone-size enclosure requiring no external wires and  is ready to be affixed, out of the box, to the inside of the car’s windshield like a traditional toll-pass module. The unit is self-powered and completely independent of any vehicle system, including power. To meet requirements from the insurance industry, the TTM Type B senses and reports installation of the device as well as tampering or post-installation removal. The products are fully FCC and CE certified.

The GE865-QUAD isfor embedded cellular applications where small size and energy efficiency are crucial. Measuring 22 x 22 x 3 miilimeters, the GE865-QUAD is significantly smaller than most cellular modules in the industry. It features an optimized power consumption profile with very low standby current compared to the majority of current competing products. Because of its extremely compact form factor and a rich set of features, including an on-board Python interpreter, it is well positioned for vertical application areas such as telemetry, mobile asset tracking telematics and telemedicine.

The number of cyclists in London is on the rise, along with safety risks that arise when trucks and cyclists both are traversing busy London junctions and interchanges.

The ProNav HGV Cyclist Alert software was developed in association with Transport for London (TfL) to provide a commercial vehicle driver with an audible and visual alert as he or she approaches a junction (or section of road) that has been determined to be a location where there are  high volumes of HGVs and cyclists. A warning symbol is displayed on the navigation system’s mapping that projects a 50-meter radius “warning zone” around each HGV/Cyclist convergence area. Drivers are also provided with a short audible tone as a reminder, giving the driver plenty of time to check for any cyclists on the road, Navevo said.

The HGV Cyclist Alert software uses data provided by TfL and the up-to-date Department for Transport HGV and pedal cycle flow figures for London’s road network. The dataset uses this information to identify locations where large numbers of HGVs and cyclists converge. Initially, 100 high-convergence areas across London have been included (alerts at every junction would be counterproductive to drivers). Working with other local authorities both in London and nationally, Navevo plans to increase the level of coverage and will provide free updates when new data becomes available.

“A navigation system is something a driver is likely to be listening to as they approach a junction, and so it makes perfect sense to also alert the driver of the risk of cyclists, reminding them to be observant and drive safely,” says Navevo CEO, Nick Caesari. “The safety of drivers, cyclists and other users of the road is a concern for everybody, and we are proud to lead the navigation industry by launching this ‘world first’ safety feature, which we believe could significantly contribute in improving road safety and reducing the number of incidents involving HGVs and cyclists.”

“For many years, London has worked to lead the way in pushing for the adoption of safer lorries and safer lorry driving,”
Ian Wainwright, head of Freight and Fleet at Transport for London. “The creation of a specific cyclist alert for HGV drivers is another positive step forward and will help to further raise awareness and improve cycle safety across the capital.”

Navsys assisted in the development of the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Emergency Vehicle Location System Mayday platform in 1995. To address the need for faster notification and responsiveness during emergencies, Navsys was contracted to integrate GPS positioning into a cell phone so that location information could be sent to a communications center for mobile 911 calls.

One of the enabling technologies Navsys developed for this system was LocaterNET. When activated by a user’s in-vehicle unit (IVU), LocaterNET collects a snapshot of raw GPS information. That information is then sent to a remote processing system to determine the user’s location. This technique allowed for low power consumption and processing requirements for the IVU, which is vital for small form factor personal navigation and communication devices.

“We are honored to be a part of this exhibition and for the awareness it creates for how GPS technology has advanced many other technologies we use today,” said Alison Brown, president and CEO of Navsys.

The Smithsonian exhibition covers a multitude of navigation and timing innovations and opens on April 12. A detailed description of the LocaterNET Mayday platform can be found here.

With the availability of GreenRoad Advanced Tracking, GreenRoad adds powerful fleet management capabilities to its best-in-class driver performance and safety solution, which combines real-time, in-vehicle safety feedback with a management portal that provides insight and guidance.

“GreenRoad Advanced Tracking builds on the GreenRoad Connected Fleet vision by giving managers deeper, broader insight into how they’re using their fleet assets, in addition to how their drivers are performing,” said Karen White, senior vice president of customer solutions for GreenRoad.

Additional highlights of GreenRoad Advanced Tracking include:

• Interactive displays of entire fleet, any vehicle group or single vehicle. Color-coding for easy status identification, 2D and 3D mapping, vehicle history trails, automatic alerts when management attention needed.
• Increased fleet activity insight with landmark and geofence support. Automatic alerts when a vehicle enters or leaves a landmark or group of landmarks.
• Enhanced reporting to optimize fleet resources. Multiple, detailed activity reports including Drive Time Summary, Fleet Utilization and Odd-Hours Violations. Vehicle MPG reports available with fuel card transaction data integration.
• A customizable dashboard runs specific reports and provides managerial insights with a minimum of mouse clicks.

The TomTom Business Solutions App Center is a dedicated web resource, detailing a range of partner applications ready for integration with TomTom’s WEBFLEET platform. These include office solutions, such as CRM, ERP, scheduling and planning software.

This move is at the heart of TomTom Business Solutions’ strategy to create added value for connected vehicle and fleet management solutions and expand its network of development partners.

“The new App Center will enable companies to identify those solutions that can be swiftly deployed and integrated with their TomTom system,” said Thomas Schmidt, TomTom Business Solutions’ managing director.

“By bringing fleet management data together with information from a host of other software systems, companies can benefit from greater efficiencies across all areas of their business — from workflow management to customer service. With our seamless integration options customers do not have to change the way they work, they simply improve it ”

The App Center will also host in-vehicle and mobile applications. Recently, TomTom opened the Bluetooth channel on its in-vehicle LINK tracking device, enabling connectivity with a host of hardware devices for use in and around the vehicle.

The App Center launch is designed to spark the development of more integrated business applications, further enhancing the potential of TomTom’s fleet management platform. Developer partners can work with TomTom’s API WEBLFEET.connect and LINK.connect to create new solutions.

Detailed developer resources can be found here.