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Nokia and ARC Transistance to Deliver Real Time Traffic Reports to Nokia Maps 2.0 and in Future Versions of Nokia Maps
:: 29 April, 2008
Nokia and ARC Transistance, the European network of automobile clubs, announced today that they are working together to provide Real Time Traffic Information to users of Nokia mobile devices. Nokia will offer the service as a premium offering in Nokia Maps 2.0 and in future versions of Nokia Maps. By adding RTTI, Nokia can save precious time for drivers by alerting them of traffic, construction or other road hazards that could affect their journey. When Nokia Maps receives the road updates from ARC Transistance, the application can dynamicly re-route during navigation and provide a faster route. This is a significant milestone for Nokia Maps, which makes navigation an even more compelling experience for Nokia device owners.
ARC Transistance Traffic Information services aggregate the real time road and traffic conditions of 16 countries in Europe, and growing. The leading navigation industry players also use the ARC Transistance Traffic Information services to enhance the routing guidance and navigation experience of their customers.
Nokia Maps turns mobile devices into local mapping and routing engines with a navigation option, providing worldwide mapping free of charge. In so doing, the unique hybrid solution combines the advantages of on-board and off-board navigation. Maps and location-aware content only need to be loaded once - they are then always available on the device.
Upgrading to the GPS navigation option enables your mobile to become a powerful connected personal navigation device, that provides clear, turn-by-turn visual and voice guidance. If your Nokia device does not have built-in GPS, you can also use an external GPS module with a compatible device. With vector maps provided by TeleAtlas and Navteq, Nokia Maps now has maps covering over 150 countries, with over 70 of them navigable.
The new version of Nokia Maps 2.0 for selected devices is available on the Nokia Beta Labs website: http://www.nokia.com/betalabs. Beta Labs shares some of the exciting new ideas that Nokia is working on and let users help shape their future development. A strong online community has developed around Beta Labs, attracting especially technology savvy, early adopter mobile enthusiasts. The current version of Nokia Maps and the Nokia Map Loader are freely available for download* for selected devices at http://www.nokia.com/maps.
About Nokia
Nokia is the world leader in mobility, driving the transformation and growth of the converging Internet and communications industries. We make a wide range of mobile devices with services and software that enable people to experience music, navigation, video, television, imaging, games, business mobility and more. Developing and growing our offering of consumer Internet services, as well as our enterprise solutions and software, is a key area of focus. We also provide equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.
About ARC Transistance
ARC Transistance was founded in 1991 and is the leading network of motoring clubs and organizations in Europe. Members include the ADAC (Germany), ANWB (The Netherlands), The AA (UK), ACI (Italy), ÖAMTC (Austria), RACE (Spain), Touring Belgium and Touring Club Switzerland. ARC Transistance offers assistance and mobility related content and services over 43 European countries and territories, and worldwide. For more than a hundred years, the ARC Transistance motoring organizations have been helping their members and customers with emergency and roadside assistance as well as touring and travel services. Today they represent more than 48 million members and customers, road users across Europe.
About Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is the only fully functional Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Utilizing a constellation of at least 24 Medium Earth Orbit satellites that transmit precise microwave signals, the system enables a GPS receiver to determine its location, speed, direction, and time. Other similar systems are the Russian GLONASS (incomplete as of 2008), the upcoming European Galileo positioning system, the proposed COMPASS navigation system of China, and IRNSS of India.
Developed by the United States Department of Defense, GPS is officially named NAVSTAR GPS (Contrary to popular belief, NAVSTAR is not an acronym, but simply a name given by John Walsh, a key decision maker when it came to the budget for the GPS program). The satellite constellation is managed by the United States Air Force 50th Space Wing. The cost of maintaining the system is approximately US$750 million per year, including the replacement of aging satellites, and research and development.
Following the shooting down of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 in 1983, President Ronald Reagan issued a directive making the system available for free for civilian use as a common good. Since then, GPS has become a widely used aid to navigation worldwide, and a useful tool for map-making, land surveying, commerce, and scientific uses. GPS also provides a precise time reference used in many applications including scientific study of earthquakes, and synchronization of telecommunications networks.
A typical GPS receiver calculates its position using the signals from four or more GPS satellites. Four satellites are needed since the process needs a very accurate local time, more accurate than any normal clock can provide, so the receiver internally solves for time as well as position. In other words, the receiver uses four measurements to solve for four variables: x, y, z, and t. These values are then turned into more user-friendly forms, such as latitude/longitude or location on a map, then displayed to the user.
Each GPS satellite has an atomic clock, and continually transmits messages containing the current time at the start of the message, parameters to calculate the location of the satellite (the ephemeris), and the general system health (the almanac). The signals travel at the speed of light through outer space, and slightly slower through the atmosphere. The receiver uses the arrival time to compute the distance to each satellite, from which it determines the position of the receiver using geometry and trigonometry.
Although four satellites are required for normal operation, fewer may be needed in some special cases. If one variable is already known (for example, a sea-going ship knows its altitude is 0), a receiver can determine its position using only three satellites. Also, in practice, receivers use additional clues (doppler shift of satellite signals, last known position, dead reckoning, inertial navigation, and so on) to give degraded answers when fewer than four satellites are visible.
About Tele Atlas
Tele Atlas is a Netherlands-based company founded in 1984 which delivers digital maps and other dynamic content for navigation and location-based services, including personal and in-car navigation systems, and provides data used in a wide range of mobile and internet map applications.
The company provides maps covering 200 countries around the world, providing mapping data and "Map Enhancement Products" such as points of interest and address points. Clients of Tele Atlas include makers of automotive navigation systems as well as mobile and internet companies which provide mapping services. The firm also supplies data to clients in the public and private sectors who rely on geographic information.
