Oct/Nov 2007

Truck-specific satellite navigation systems are on the way at last, thanks to a series of developments by companies providing the underlying map data. The most prominent of these was this autumn's UK launch by digital map producer Navteq of its Navteq Transport data, which includes bridge heights, width restrictions and other key truck-related data.

The launch follows the lower-key release of the Tele Atlas Logistics dataset, which also incorporates bridge heights and width restrictions. The UK version of this is believed to be more detailed than that for other countries, since it draws on the Integrated Transport Layer that has been under development by Ordnance Survey.

Navteq launched its product in France last year and in Germany this year, and will offer it in Benelux before the end of the year. Other European countries will follow.

Tele Atlas's data initially covers Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, and the company is also developing data for numerous other countries.

 

Navteq's new data is extensive. It includes physical restrictions such as height, weight, width and length; legal restrictions tailored to lorry operations, such as banned turns and U-turns, truck and trailer bans, and specific speed limits; and warnings of steep hills, sharp bends, areas with high lateral winds, and risk of grounding. There is also a range of point-of-interest data.

Initially Navteq's UK data includes all motorways and what are termed 'national roads', plus 40 per cent of 'low-use' roads. Navteq is aware that the industry requirement is universal coverage, and Peter Beaumont, the company's enterprise customer marketing director for Europe, says the plan is to add other roads next year.

Tele Atlas likewise says its initial data covers only main road networks, but adds that it will build in 'interconnecting' roads over the next couple of years.

For the time being, satnav systems using the new data will show visually or audibly whether a given road is monitored by the data or not, and could sound an alert if the driver turns on to a non-monitored road. Routing software could be set to choose only monitored roads.

For enterprise customers using the data in tracking, routing or other desktop applications, Navteq says it may be possible to add the new data to existing mapping retrospectively, depending on what version of the data is in place.

On launch date three satnav suppliers pledged support for the data by announcing that truck-specific satnav products were on the way - ALK, PTV Loxanne and Siemens VDO. The Siemens product should be available 'within weeks', the company says, while the ALK and PTV solutions are expected in the first part of next year.