COMING TO YOUR CAR SOON: 3-D NAVIGATION

Do drivers want to see a photorealistic image of the road ahead on their navigation displays?

Google, Volkswagen, and nVidia think so, and they’re working on a mapping and navigation system that could present Google Earth satellite images of highways and buildings.

Since 2005, Volkswagen of America’s Electronic Research Lab in Palo Alto, California, has been developing prototype vehicles with the system. While there’s no projected date for the concept to become reality in production vehicles, it’s not far off.

In-car navigation has been available for more than a decade. The first system used CD-based overhead views that could be rotated to follow the direction of travel (instead of North always being up). Essentially, these are electronic road maps and show icons for gas stations, ATMs, and diners.

More recently, in-car nav has evolved to DVD based systems with birds-eye-view maps, meaning nearby roads are big, and roads farther away recede into the background. Now some map databases show the outlines of major buildings in big cities. Many drivers take a day or two to grow accustomed to the different perspective and then stick with the birds-eye-view maps.

The partnership of Google, VW, and nVidia proposes a concept that will jump ahead of existing systems on two fronts: it will offer actual satellite images showing terrain, roads, buildings and foliage – and provide real-time information on services; for example, gas stations that are open currently, not just 18 months ago when the car’s DVD disc was manufactured.

By seeing the roadway in the context of nearby buildings and landmarks, drivers will have a better sense of where they are and whether they’re on course.

Other nav-system vendors are working on the timeliness issue too, with hard disks that replace or supplement the map DVDs. Updates would arrive either wirelessly (via satellite downloads or cellular data), by WiFi to the car when it’s parked at home, or (the least likely method, because it would require user intervention) removing the hard disk and docking it to a USB-connected PC.

A prototype of the Google-VW technology at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in January gave attendees a taste for what may be possible in a couple years. Using cellular wireless such as EVDO or other high-speed wireless (WiMax is a possibility), the system calls on Google online maps, Google Search, and Google Earth capabilities.

The route, other key roads, and POIs (points of interest) are overlaid on the images. Since there’s a wireless link to the Internet, the driver could check on gasoline prices or determine if a restaurant is still open.

But photorealistic views may not always be better in a moving vehicle. Some drivers might find it a challenge to orient themselves quickly with the image, even when it’s facing in the direction they’re traveling.

For one thing, the images are shot from overhead. For another, images shot in winter may not resemble those shot in spring (less of a problem in urban areas where skyscrapers look the same all year).

Also, the images may provide more detail than drivers need at a glance. (A similar debate rages over which night vision technology is better: the Mercedes/Automotive Lighting active infrared system, which provides exceptional detail that’s as good as black-and-white TV but at less distance and possibly with distracting extra elements, versus the Delphia/GM and now BMW/Siemens VDO passive IR systems, which show just hotspots such as people, cars, and animals but have twice the range.)

Realistic images are not generally considered to be well suited for the head-up displays that appear to float just above the end of the car hood. With current nav systems, a HUD usually displays iconic arrows, not a road map.

The quality of data – of gasoline prices, for instance – will depend less on Google, VW, and nVidia than on the data providers. Currently you can check gasoline prices online or via wireless PDA, but drivers often find that the data covers only a fraction of stations in the area, and prices may not be the most current.

So the most fascinating technology Google brings to the car may be the ability to see exactly what the road ahead looks like before you drive it, especially in urban areas.

Dennis Turner