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CNS (Car Navigation System) for Sustainable Transport: An Indian overview
Anurag Ohri1 , Abhimanyu Godara2 , Lakhwinder Singh Abstract In this contemprary age of more and more complex road systems and increasingly heavy traffic, it is not always easy to stay on course. What we need today are innovative solutions. Solutions that make life easier for drivers by automatically selecting the right route and guiding the vehicle reliably to the desired destination. GIS and GPS based Car Navigation system (CNS) with Transport Telematics is one of the best solution for this problem. In the countries like Japan and USA almost every car has this system but in the developing countries like India and other countries of Asia region, still this system is very unpopular and it is just like a dream for the car users. Previously the high cost of system hardware, non-availability of digital data, less number of high segment cars and ignorance were the factors for non popularization of this system, but now with the sharp falling hardware cost, availability of digital data, increased population of cars and interest in people to adopt the latest technology has opened a great market for CNS in the countries like India. But aforementioned market can only be grabbed if someone provides this system at such a cost that each segment car owner can purchase it. The objective of this paper is to study the various cost and other factors involved in the development of CNS and how we can develop a low cost CNS for the countries like India. This paper also presents the cost analysis for both developer and user of this system by doing the case study of Indian capital Delhi. 1 Introduction Using GIS and GPS opens a wide range of possible applications in the field of traffic management. GPS present in cars and trucks along a road, trains along a track, ships across the sea or airplanes in the sky, all applications have one thing in common: They are objects that move along a path in space. A GIS can provide a valuable tool for managing these objects in a spatially referenced context, viewing the paths as a transportation network. The Global Positioning System (GPS) has become an essential tool for GIS database developers and users over the last 10 years. GPS hardware is portable, relatively easy to use, and can locate features to within several millimeters using sophisticated software, to about 1m using resource grade differential correction software/hardware or to within 10 meters autonomously using hand held units. GPS software falls into two main categories: survey grade software for network (least squares) adjustment of GPS points, and GIS mapping software that produces GIS ready files containing features, attributes and differentially corrected position information. A third software category runs on Pocket PC platforms with low-cost handheld or PCMCIA GPS instruments. 1.1 About GPS GPS provide a set of coordinates which represent the location of the GPS unit with respect to it's latitude, longitude and elevation on planet Earth. It also provides time, which is as accurate as that given by an atomic clock. The actual application of the GPS technology is what leads to such things as navigation systems, GPS tracking devices, GPS surveying and GPS mapping. GPS in itself does not provide any functionality beyond being able to receive satellite signals and calculate position information. GPS works on traditional principle of "triangulation" although GPS does not use angles. An orienteer needs at least three points to locate themselves on a map in the real world, which allows them to pinpoint their location on the map. They can then measure, using a compass, the azimuth (This is the direction of a celestial object, measured clockwise around the observer's horizon from north) that would be needed to take them from the point on the map to their current position. A line is then drawn from each of the three points, and where the three lines meet is where they are on the map. Translating this into the GPS world, we can replace the known points with satellites, and the azimuth with time taken for a signal to travel from each of the known points to the GPS receiver. This enables the system to work out roughly where it is located; it is where the circles representing the distance from the satellite, calculated on the basis of the travel time of the signal, intersect. Of course, this requires that the GPS locator has the same coordinated time as the satellites, which have atomic clocks on board. To do this, it cross-checks the intersection of the three circles with a fourth circle, which it acquires from another satellite. If the four circles no longer intersect at the same point, then the GPS system knows that there is an error in it's clock, and can adjust it by finding one common value (one second, half a second and so on) that can be applied to the three initial signals which would cause the circles to intersect in the same place. Behind the scenes, there are also many complex calculations taking place which enable the system to compensate for atmospheric distortion of the signals, and so forth, but the principle remains the same. 1.2 About Car navigation System Car navigation system uses a GPS for knowing his on a map and GPS mapping and navigation is perhaps the most well-known of all the applications of GPS. Using the GPS coordinates, appropriate software can perform all manner of tasks, from locating the unit, to finding a route from A to B, or dynamically selecting the best route in real time. These systems need to work with map data, which does not form part of the GPS system. The availability of high powered computers in small, portable packages has lead to a variety of solutions which combines maps with location information to enable the user to navigate. One of the first such applications was the car navigation system, which allows drivers to receive navigation instructions without taking their eyes off the road, via voice commands.Xianxian Zhang etal,.had worked on 'Audio-Visual Speaker Localization for Car Navigation Systems'.Then there are handheld GPS units, such as those from Garmin, Magellan and a dozen other manufacturers, which are commonly used by those involved in outdoor pursuits, and only provide limited information such as the location, and possibly store GPS waypoints. A waypoint being a location that is kept in memory so that the unit can retrace the same path at a later time. More advanced versions include aviation GPS systems, which offer specific features for those flying aircraft, and marine GPS systems which offer information pertaining to marine channels, and tide times, etc. This paper aims for implementation of car navigation system (CNS) for a country like India. In India the problem of traffic congestion leads to loss of time and this loss can be minimised by placing an efficient navigation system in the vehicles. This study aim to suggest implementation of CNS in metro cities where the traffic is generally comprised of cars. CNS present in a car can suggest an alternative path where the flow of traffic is smooth and so can prevent loss of time. We are also be presenting the benefits This study will focus the key aspect regarding the cost analysis of the parts required to make a CNS so that it can be easily accepted by mass users of car. 2 What is Car Navigation System (CNS)? Vehicle or car navigation systems are used for guiding vehicles to their destination. These systems usually use GPS or inertial navigation systems or a combination of both for positioning the vehicle. The advantage of using both inertial navigation systems and GPS is that navigation can be continued even when the GPS cannot receive the signals form the satellites due to obstruction. In countries like the US car, vehicle navigation systems are used for guiding tourists to different tourist spots. The vehicle navigation systems use a computer, which determines the position of the vehicle, plans the route and gives the directions to the driver. The driver gives the location of his/her destination while starting his journey and the computer guides the driver by giving either audio or and visual instructions. The route the computer plans is usually optimized route; the route is the route optimized for distance or the route can be the most or the least used route (Jurgen, 1998). Navigation systems are part of the intelligent transportation systems, where the vehicles are navigated and help is provided to the vehicles, which are stranded due to some problem with the vehicle or any accident. Zito et al, (1995), have studied the usage of GPS for Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHS). Much of the research and development work related to IVHS (presently it is known as intelligent transportation systems or ITS) depends upon the reliability of the methods used for locating and monitoring vehicles. Some of their observations and conclusions are:
The study involved the use of GPS and GIS to collect and process vehicle movement information. In the system, latitude and longitude coordinate information as well as speed and time data for test vehicles were collected independently. These data were reduced and translated using a GIS linear referencing technique to prepare a set of movement data for each vehicle. This information is then easily retrieved by the car drivers to take best possible path to reach their destination. 3 Importance and Benifts of CNS in India In a country like India, where number of vehicles moving on road are continuously increasing as compared to the road constructed and which can be one of the reason for traffic congestion.at a place, Car Navigation System can play vital role in easing out traffic movement for that place. A free flow traffic will reduce the cost of fuel required for cars as the speed of the car can be maintained. Road safety is another important factor in metropolitan cities as the numbers of accidents are increasing every year. The safety of road traffic can be improved by the help of CNS. An enormous increase in the number of navigation systems in cars is expected, navigation systems have a positive road safety effect because they assist finding a destination and help avoiding detours. However, they do have a possible negative effect if operating and monitoring the system interferes with the driving task. This is also the case if the information given is not up-to-date or does not fit the driver's need. The literature indicates that a total of 5 to 7% of the kilometres driven can be saved by reducing detours. A special target group of navigation systems are older drivers. They benefit a lot from the support of the driving task by providing the correct route information. A precondition of the system is, however, that it must be extremely simple to operate and will not interfere with the driving task. The positive effects of adequate navigation systems in cars are linked to fewer (detour) kilometres, resulting in less stress, lower costs, and less pollution. Road safety may count on a reduction of accidents and causalities of about 5-7%, being the same as the car kilometres saved. If this reduction were also to apply to the Netherlands, a complete introduction of navigation systems would result in 40-50 less road deaths and a decrease of 400-600 seriously injured annually. The brief survey of Dutch users showed that a majority of drivers can and do programme while driving. The satisfaction with the system seemed great, and the majority used it to assist them finding a new destination. 4 CNS in India  Bangalore Sept. 6. In what is possibly the first satellite-based car navigation tool for an Indian city, a Belgian company - Tele Atlas - has produced a navigation Compact Disk for Delhi.(The Hindu 2003)  The latest built-in CNS with voice guidance. (Toyota Motors, Japan) In the car navigation system, Japan is well ahead of Europe and the United States by several years. The Japanese car navigation market grows every year, and 2.5 million navigations have been sold in 2002. As car sales in Japan are at 4 million, navigations are equipped more than a 50% for new car. In addition, cars with 10 million navigations are running on the road. As the Japanese car market is at 30 million, this would mean that one in three people are using a car navigation system. How have that car navigation become so widespread? The extremely detailed maps, voice guides, ease of use for things such as phone number entries, and the abundant Points of Interest have all worked to satisfy the users. New car electronics such as lane keeping, backing assistance, unsteady driving warning and navigation interlocking shift control have also been developed using car navigation system functions. In 2002, storage was changed from 8.5 GB DVD to 20 GB HDD. Car navigation systems are about to change to car PCs. Big capacity and rewriting give customers new entertainment such as image guidance, music jukebox and abundant Point of Interest . Especially, image guidance is route guidance is using IKONOS satellite images. Other models have used aerial photograph images. It is very excited that our own house can be found on navigation screen. In Japan with rapidly evolving car-navigation technology, the automobile is turning into a high-tech information terminal on wheels. You can not only map out your route electronically and get traffic updates but also make restaurant reservations and, soon, access the Internet from your car. 7 Conclusion To make navigation systems as safe as possible, the following is recommended:
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