Latest Car Navigation System

The other day on TV, they were saying that Honda had developed an incredible navigation system. Unlike commonly used systems which require the users themselves to search the route which is the most fuel friendly and the route which you can get the biggest discount using ETC(Electronic Toll Collection System) on the motorways, the new system server automatically gives you the information with all the roads to your destination. Usually, car navigation systems are mainly used to check the shortest route to get somewhere but this one can tell you the most economical way to get there. Hasn’t it got all that one could ask? Japan has a small land area but has constructed hundreds and thousands of roads for political reasons after WWⅡ. Although having so many different ways to reach a destination, we tend to use main roads; so it will be very useful. If it can reduce fuel consumption at the same time, it is Eco friendly, isn’t it?

I saw the actual images on TV. On the programme in which people wanted to reduce their fuel cost. They avoided a traffic jam, it was telling its driver to get off the motorway a bit earlier and drive along the small, complicated roads in residential areas with less numbers of traffic lights or roads only locals know, avoid steep hills to reduce engine revolutions. When stuck in a traffic jam, I tend to choose side-roads to get out of it and when it turns out to be a quick way to get there, I feel contented; so for a person like myself, it is very interesting.

You can add some information on fuel consumption rates, acceleration and deceleration data and different ETC discount rates which change by the travel distances and time. It can also suggest to you the best scenic route using information such as the weather forecast from the Japan Weather Association, cherry blossom blooming rates, autumn foliage rates, etc.

There is a service for an individual driver to be able to get information on the route he wants among all other possible useful information in the world. Lately, Google started a service called “Street View” in Google map. In some countries there might be similar systems but when you can actually see images of the roads at ground level which you could have only seen on a map or satellite image, it is truly amazing. It is the “imaginary walkway” function. Because the images on the Street View are taken while the staff were actually driving the roads, the areas you can use it are limited to Tokyo, Osaka and some other big cities. However, if you use the Google map’s function and Honda’s navigation system together, there might be time coming soon in future when you can show actual images on the screen to use it as a real time guide or you can see visual images of the roads on the computer before leaving home. It looks convenient but ft you can check these things on the computer you may not want to go anywhere by car in the end. Then it will be the ultimate in Eco friendly driving, won’t it?




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