Newsletter 40  July 2008/3

Satellite navigation is getting smarter – that’s the message from the suppliers, and is reflected in a feature article in the latest m.logistics, which is published this week and goes online at the same time.

Meanwhile, new angles on the satnav market are vying for users’ interest. One imaginative idea is a system that displays a dynamic satnav map inset into the corner of your rear-view mirror (a special mirror replaces the original one). It’s from u-blox, a leading Swiss-based GPS specialist.

MirrorPilot Navigator is a fully functional GPS navigation system, including GPS receiver, antenna and speaker. The display automatically zooms in at crossroad and junctions and redirects users at traffic jams. Initially the product is available for Germany, Austria, Switzerland.

More conventional, but taking truck-related information a further step, is the ProNav GPS system from Navevo, which augments the Navteq Transport data on widths, lengths and lorry restrictions with information on Red Routes, parking restrictions and the location of parking bays and truck filling stations.