NAVTEQ (NYSE: NVT), a leading global provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, has integrated three new attributes providing detailed lane information into the NAVTEQ map of Germany. The initial product enhancement includes extended lane information for select critical junctions on German highways/motorways and seven international airports in Germany. NAVTEQ plans to introduce these attributes on its maps of Western Europe and North America in 2005.
Years of driving the roadways and listening to customer feedback has given NAVTEQ an ideal vantage point for understanding how to enhance drivers navigation experience. The addition of extended lane attributes is one such example of how NAVTEQs unique insight translates into a constantly improving and highly sophisticated digital map product. As the global transportation infrastructure evolves to address the mounting numbers of vehicles on the roadway, the number and complexity of lanes has grown in kind, forcing a need for increased specificity and clarity of navigation systems route guidance. As a result, NAVTEQ identified the following three lane specific attributes as key enhancements:
Extended number of lanes: the total number of lanes along a stretch of roadway including turn, deceleration and exit lanes.
Lane connectivity: indicates how and where along the roadway lanes connect and depart from one another.
Lane restrictions: restricted time and usage information.
When utilised in a navigation application, these attributes can simplify route guidance for sections of the roadway where complex lane interaction/extended lane situations exist. NAVTEQs customers can make a tangible impact on drivers perceived value and quality of the vehicles navigation system by reducing drivers risk of getting lost. The extended lane attributes deliver more information and in advance of the complex intersection and exit situations for drivers, aiding drivers in making correct and careful routing decisions.
NAVTEQ intends to include these three attributes in selected maps of Europe and North America, focusing on sections of the road network with significant infrastructure and lane intricacies. The key criteria NAVTEQ has identified for collection of extended lane attributes for a particular stretch of roadway are the existence of highway-to-highway intersections and multi-lane exit situations.
The extended lane attributes for Germany are available in GDF 3.0 and come at no additional charge with the NAVTEQ map of Germany. North American test files are available for limited intersections in the Los Angeles and Detroit areas.
"The road network is constantly evolving so NAVTEQ continues to stay focused on enhancing drivers navigation experience through the integration of rich, relevant content. The introduction of extended lanes attributes is one example of the types of enhanced content were incorporating into our maps," commented John MacLeod, Executive Vice President Global Marketing & Strategy. "We are currently working to make the extended lane attributes available with other NAVTEQ maps."
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