2016 will be the year of self-driving automobiles since nearly every technology company is looking to expand into the automobile space. Considering an average driver spends about an hour in India on road, it makes sense to make driving easier for people and more systematic. Tesla had recently released a software update for its cars in the US and subsequently other regions to allow the cars to self-drive on the roads. No, there are no terms and conditions, the cars actually drive themselves, they take turns and park completely on their own.
As amazing as that might sound, there are of course some dangers associated if their is not enough data of the roads and traffic. However, to launch such a service in India is in itself a huge task and MapmyIndia has come to our rescue!
MapMyIndia, a manufacturer of GPS and In-dash vehicle devices for navigation using maps, MapmyIndia has announced its latest self-driving car technologies to be showcased at the Auto Expo 2016, which will be held between February 5 to February 9. MapmyIndia has unveiled two technologies: RealView Technology and Advanced Maps for Self-Driving Cars.
About the self-driving car technologies
RealView technologies gives a brain to self-driving cars. It senses the ground around and captures high-resolution panoramic(360 degree) images along with the ability of GPS to identify location and creates a virtual imagery of the driving conditions. The technology comes in handy when it identifies potholes from the stored data, speed breakers, unruly terrain, traffic signals, flyovers etc. and alerts the user about the situation. As more and more vehicles pass from one area, the data gets updated and allows other cars travelling to that area to understand the route better.
MapmyIndia’s Advanced Maps is paired with RealView to provide information to the driver on the routes, possible obstacles and in a way make the car ‘learn’ the course to the destination. This is extremely helpful to a driver to decide on the best possible route before heading to the desired location and create a master database for the users who will be driving through a monitored route for the first time.
GPS devices from MapmyIndia
MapmyIndia has announced DriveMate, an innovative plug and play GPS device, which allows you to be connected to your car all the time. Claiming to turn your car into a smart-car, it can track information related to driver behaviour, vehicle behaviour and can display car diagnostics. The device can be directly connected to the CAN interface of the vehicle without any need of complicated equipment and wires.
A Connected Car platform for automobile manufacturers and tier-1 system suppliers has also been unveiled, which aims to deliver smartphone-connected in-car navigation, Telematics and Map APIs for the car’s infotainment system and third-party Apps Location-Aware. The driver will be able to see maps on the infotainment system directly and assess the route.
A Fleet Management system has also been showcased which includes Computer Aided Dispatch Solution for Emergency Response Vehicles such as Fire Trucks, Ambulances and Police Vehicles as well as GPS Fleet Management System for School Buses and Logistics Trucks. This will enable these vehicles to prioritize their routes and select the best accordingly in cases of emergency.
MapmyIndia is one of the leading GPS technology organisation in India and we could not have expected anything better from them. Since self-driving cars are not far from reality, this technology would add cherry on top of the cake. Moreover, RealView has been designed keeping Indian roads and infrastructure in mind, which not many companies do. MapmyIndia would be displaying all the technologies and instruments at the Auto Expo – Components pavilion alongside other manufacturers.
