A technical committee of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is undertaking an intense work programme to develop global standards for intelligent transport systems. The committee (named TC 204) recently released a new standard (ISO 17267:2009) that will help automakers ensure their in-car navigation systems work around the world.
This standard focuses on how navigation systems interact and interpret digital data stored within map databases, ensuring this critical process operates smoothly. It would, said an ISO statement, describe in detail “an interface that will make information accessible and retrievable as well as assist developers of navigation systems.” The new standard describes what data should be retrieved from databases, defines how a navigation system should access this information and lays down functions these systems should provide drivers.
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Project leader for the standard, Carl Stephen Smyth, said having a computer interface between navigation systems and map databases “defines the methods that navigation system software developers may use to select a travel destination, request a route to a destination, display the planned path, and guide a traveler to a destination…” He said this “will improve the efficiency of the development of navigation systems.”
His technical committee is busy. It has 59 standards on intelligent transport systems under development. Subjects range from electronic tolling, lane keeping assist systems and vehicle identification, to adaptive cruise control and communications with land-based mobile communication systems.
A business plan released by the committee stressed that its aim was the commercialistion of this cutting-edge technology. “To be successful, low cost communications equipment needs to be incorporated into passenger and public transport vehicles. ISO/TC204 is developing standards to ensure the global integration and interoperability of such technologies [while] allowing the data from these devices to be successfully translated into useful information for location-based services such as automatic crash notification, traffic notification and alternative routing.”
