Abstract
When car navigation was in its research phase, there was no editor of digital maps made for route guidance. Small files of "navigable" map data were built to test the systems. The data were organized in a format best suited to the navigation software. As a result, we ended up with as many formats as companies developing navigation software. The slow speed at which data was retrieved from the media and processed became an incentive for the suppliers to define a format that would generate the best performance and make it a competitive advantage.
Today, each system still has its own CD/DVD format and the consequences are costly in many respects:
- A given database has to be converted in as many media as there are systems: the excess of diversity complicated the distribution.
- The conversion process is a costly operation. It takes months to perform. This also has a negative effect on the "freshness" of the map data.
- Upgraded navigation functions bring new types of data. This require a large effort to maintain and upgrade the many conversion tools.
On the other hand, the performance of components has increased significantly to the point that it is unnecessary to compete of the media format.
Once a common data format is defined and adopted by the industry, all systems will use the same CD/DVDs, as in the case of music CDs and video DVDs. The map editors will then compete on map data and the system vendors will compete on navigation hardware and software. This need for a standard format will become a requirement when map data updates will be sent to vehicles by telematics.
A consensus as been reached on the part of the car companies on the need of a standard. Some proposals exist today. The supplier community must be convinced that this also their interest, even though it will require significant software work. The adoption of a standard will benefit the whole industry and the end customers as well.
The European population of cars equipped with navigation is now 4 million. And it increases by more than a million every year. We must engage into this process soon if we want to minimize the pain of switching to a standard.