Car Navigation

Car navigation is a very interesting capability that is becoming more and more prevalent as an option on many new cars and also as an aftermarket add-on device for used cars and rental cars. There are many companies out there making a multitude of systems that provide excellent value to the customers.

Many people have heard of GPS navigation and know that this system is supported by many satellites that are in orbit above the earth and providing data to the earth that can be received by GPS navigation systems to determine the current location of a person, ship or vehicle at any moment in time. Often the receiver is receiving the data from 6 or more satellites simultaneously and this data is used to determine the latitude, longitude and elevation of the vehilce. This lat-long data is matched against digital maps to show where the person or vehicle is currently and then the user can see where he/she is and can map a route to his destination.

What many people do not realize is the GPS is not perfect since the signal from the satellites cannot be received at ground level in many large cities which have tall buildings. GPS navigation systems become effectively blind in such cases and other inputs are needed to enable those navigation systems to continue to show accurately the current position. In many systems, a speed pulse is input from the wheels of the car to inform the distance traveled. This can be done using a special wheel sensor or another special signal created by the vehicle that simulates the movement of the car. Many portable systems have only GPS to use to update the current positions. Those systems are therefore not very effective in large cities with many tall buildings such as New York or Chicago etc.

Great features are also provided to the user by many navigation systems. Such features as trip planning, restaurant contact and rating information, hotel and gas station information are available to the user. A user can plan a very efficient shopping trip by entering the telephone numbers of the shops he/she wants to visit. The navigation system will plan the most effective route for the user and take him/her to each place one at a time each time he starts his/her car. This is really a great feature. Another simple but nice feature is the navigation systems ability to take you back to your start point in a city you have never been to.

It is time to get a navigation system and see how useful this system is. In the near future systems with real traffic input will reroute you based on the traffic conditions and take you around potential road blocks caused by construction, accidents and rushhour traffic. If you have time, take a look at these systems from the major manufacturers, Alpine, Tom Tom, Blaupunkt and others. These systems will guide you to your destination with voice and graphic guidance. But be sure to keep your eyes on the road at all times!