You Are Here, New Technology Will Get You There

Chicago Tribune
March 16, 1997
Original draft, by Tom LaRocque

Navigation is but a thread tying together many multi-faceted systems, however. Most offer additional features. Many include vehicle "tracking" technology, to locate missing or stolen cars. Some deter theft. A few systems summon help in emergencies. Some are linked by telephone to 24-hour service centers staffed with friendly, professionally trained people.

What makes it all possible, of course, is the simultaneous march forward of several diverse technologies. Not least is the federal government's vast network of global positioning satellites (GPS), which is also employed to track everything from lost pets to ships at sea. In anticipation of GPS, cities and highways have been thoroughly, meticulously mapped. Most of the nation's 20 biggest metro areas, plus several smaller ones, have been completed. Eventually all cities will be covered, according to map software suppliers.

Existing on-board technologies have contributed much as well. Wheel-speed sensors, long a component of antilock brakes and electronic speedometers, now measure the distance a vehicle has traveled, while electronic compasses determine the direction. The information supplied by sources on-board and off is processed into more useful forms, thanks to better software. Even the synthesized voice saying "Turn left!" sounds less officious than in the past.

Chicago motorists interested in navigation systems can easily test-drive two types, available in rental cars. The O'Hare location of Budget Car & Truck Rental maintains several Ford Crown Victorias equipped with audio-only navigation systems (described below). Hertz, meanwhile, will have more than 8,000 cars nationwide equipped with nav systems by October 1996, it says. The Hertz system, called Neverlost, was developed by Rockwell International. The same system is sold by Rockwell as an aftermarket add-on named Pathmaster; and by Oldsmobile, as an option called Guidestar. Avis rents Guidestar-equipped Oldsmobiles in many cities.

I tried Hertz Neverlost in a 1996 Taurus. Starting at the Hertz facility at O'Hare, I punched in a destination address on West Lexington Street in Chicago. Programming is entirely intuitive, done on a small computer unit within easy reach of the driver. Nonetheless. a five-step starting procedure is outlined in a brochure given to Hertz customers. The Neverlost system guided me out of O'Hare, onto I-190, then I-90, and to the Adams street exit. I reached my destination easily.

Neverlost issues audible commands, as well as visual cues on a four-inch wide display screen. Most impressive about GPS systems is their accuracy in tracking a moving car. On a map visible on the computer unit's display screen, an icon depicts the vehicle as it makes its way down highways, main thoroughfares, and remote side streets. GPS positioning is said to be accurate within 50 meters. But that accuracy level is improved by the mapping software which "snaps" the car icon onto the right roadway, rather than let it drift between streets. Private property is not mapped, however.

My second destination was an address on Chicago's far south side, at 133rd and Langley. Neverlost devised an efficient route, then sent me southbound on the Dan Ryan. Along the way, I exited for an experimental detour down South Michigan, near Cermak. That area has always presented problems for me in trying to find the expressway entrance. After becoming sufficiently "lost," I asked the system to devise a new route to my original destination on Langley. It did, and guided me efficiently back onto the Dan Ryan. It was undoubtedly a quicker route than any I'd have found on my own.

I found my far-south side stop easily. Next, I asked the system to guide me to the nearest ATM. It did, with no difficulty. Then I requested directions to the nearest golf course. It devised a route to the Pipe 'o Peace golf course (renamed the Joe Louis five years ago), at 131st and Halsted. But that route was blocked by a closed bridge at 129th. At that point, it seems, I was on my own. The system had no apparent means to choose an alternative route.

The suburb of Riverside, with its highly irregular layout of streets, presents the ultimate challenge for an auto navigation system. I immersed myself deep in an area of wildly winding Riverside roads, then selected a random address across town. Neverlost performed well most of the time, but occasionally got confused, and misrepresented my location. To re-orient the system is simple enough--enter the correct cross streets or address of your current location. Even though I was able to deliberately confuse the system, Neverlost pleasantly surprised me with its ability to create efficient routes to distant, difficult destinations.

One fear about systems offering visual cues is that they may distract the driver. I found Neverlost distracting only for the first few minutes. Using it soon becomes second nature, easy to coordinate with the usual driving duties. Another complaint stems from the fact that the system lacks an alpha-numeric keyboard, which would be impossible to use while driving. All commands are punched with just four buttons on the Neverlost unit. To select Riverside, for example, the operator must scroll though a list of many cities and towns. To select a street, select from a list of Riverside streets. It's slow, but it can indeed be done while driving.

The most sophisticated nav systems to date are two GPS-based options from Ford and General Motors. GM's OnStar, available in all '97 Cadillacs except the new Catera, adds $1,000 to a car's MSRP. Ford's RESCU, optional in the Lincoln Continental, costs $1,995 including four "run-flat" tires and a cellular phone. Coverage of many more Ford and GM models is expected. Navigation systems are in development at Chrysler, Toyota, and Volvo.

Global positioning relies on a network of 24 satellites in orbit approximately 11,000 miles from the earth. A car's GPS navigation system receives radio transmissions from at least three satellites at time, and uses a mathematical triangulation process to calculate its own position.

The capabilities of some systems, including OnStar and RESCU, are further enhanced with cellular telephones. OnStar and RESCU are linked by phone to customer-service centers: OnStar's facility, in Michigan, is staffed to provide live turn-by-turn routing advice to motorists. RESCU's service center, in Dallas, does not offer live navigation assistance. It was designed mainly as a means of summoning help in the event of a mechanical breakdown, an accident, or foul play.

A phone can be used not just for conversation, but also to control certain functions of the vehicle, when wired into its various electronic systems. When the keys are locked inside, for example, a properly equipped OnStar car can be unlocked remotely. Service-center staffers can disable the car, in special circumstances, to prevent theft or halt a stolen car from being driven further. In response to theft or a carjacking, the hands-free phone can be used to surreptitiously listen in, while the system's location-tracking function does its thing.

Vehicle tracking is one of two main duties of the On Guard Tracker, an aftermarket product from ATX Research. Theft is the most common reason for tracking a car, but many other real-life situations call for vehicle-tracking, the manufacturer maintains. For example, parents using the Tracker can check on the location of a car driven by their teenagers--whether the teens like it or not.

The On Guard Tracker requires the driver to enter a code before starting the car. The code is transmitted automatically via cell phone to the customer service center, in San Antonio. If the code is not entered, the service center phones the car and asks the driver for identification. If foul play is detected, authorities are notified. Vehicle owners are responsible for their own phone bills.

The Tracker also provides navigation assistance. But this GPS system includes no visual component such as a video screen. All help is rendered on the phone by live service personnel stationed in San Antonio, Texas. "Our research shows people would rather talk to somebody on the phone," says ATX engineer Steve Schnipper. "It's unnatural to try to view a screen while you're driving."

For drivers who prefer audible commands, there are other alternatives: Audio-navigation systems have been unveiled by several companies best known in the world of car stereo: Kenwood, Clarion, Alpine, and Eclipse. All four employ proprietary voice-recognition technology developed by Amerigon, Inc., of southern California. They do not use GPS technology to locate the vehicle. How do they know where you are? You tell it.

I tried one such system in a Budget rental car. The Clarion IVS Audio/Navigation System draws its data from CD-ROM software disks. Navigation data has been compiled for most major metro areas including Chicago. The disks are "played" on a standard CD changer, and vocal turn-by-turn routing instructions are spoken in a monotonic voice sounded through an ordinary stereo and speakers. The driver controls the system with his own voice, through a visor-mounted microphone.

"I'm at O'Hare Airport," I said. It asked me to spell O'Hare, then requested verification (I spoke the word "Verify.") It asked where I was going: Was it a landmark, an address, or a set of cross streets? I gave it the address of a business establishment randomly picked from the phone book. The system calculated the shortest route for me to get there, then started issuing orders. Along the way, I prompted it for information using several specific voice commands: Next, Repeat, New Route, and others.

Initially I was delighted with how well I was able to "converse" with this system. The protocol is almost intuitive. A short instruction card suspended from the rear-view mirror was all I needed to get started. The voice often warned me of landmarks preceding my turns, so that I'd be ready for the turns. The system specified shorter routes when two alternatives were available.

But then the glitches began. Occasionally the voice-recognition software couldn't understand what I was saying. I spelled out Kedzie numerous times, but the system apparently mistook the K for a J, the E for an A. "James?" it asked me. "Janus?" Eventually the conversation seems more like an argument, with a dumb, relentless companion.

I tried every possible way to tell the system I was on I-94, the Kennedy Expressway, without success. An Amerigon sales rep was also unable to do so. But the Clarion/Amerigon system is a prototype, he said; improvements are expected. The Clarion IVS system will sell in the aftermarket for about $700, not including the CD changer or stereo.

Blaupunkt, another familiar name in car stereo, markets a GPS navigation system in Europe. Blaupunkt's parent corporation, Robert Bosch Corporation, is considering the system for sale as original equipment in U.S. cars.

While not all navigation systems rely on GPS technology, neither do all vehicle-tracking systems. Lojack, a $595 aftermarket product introduced in 1986, uses low-frequency radio signals to locate stolen cars. The unfortunate owner alerts police, who then remotely activate a transmitter in the missing car. The radio signal leads them to the transmitter, and the car. One advantage of this system, says its manufacturer, is that it compels owners to file stolen-vehicle reports, which police desire for reasons of liability. But Lojack is intended solely for locating stolen cars, not general vehicle-tracking. It is available in a limited number of metro areas including Chicago.