ALK Technology Summit
2009
April 21, 2009
Enhancing Safety with
Integrated Navigation
Presentation by:
Tom Flies, Senior Vice
President,
Product Strategy
Today’s fleet operations technology
provides a wealth of useful information that helps fleets perform efficiently
within a highly competitive environment by making vehicle and driver
information available in real-time. This information can include:
Locations for asset tracking
Speed information for lowering
costs and modifying driver behavior
Miles-per-gallon data for
cost analysis
Hours-of-service records
for government compliance
Fleet data is available as a snapshot
in time or over a period of time, which enables on-the-spot monitoring
and long-term trending analysis—both key tools in optimizing operations.
One strong reason for using critical fleet information is to enhance
the safety of the entire fleet.
Integrated navigation takes fleet safety
to the next level. To understand the benefits of navigation, we must
examine the automotive industry, where satellite navigation systems
have been in use for a longer period of time.
TomTom™, a supplier of navigation
products, commissioned a study by research institutions in Europe and
the US that confirms the positive influence of satellite navigation
devices on driving and traffic safety. One such study was conducted
recently in Germany, the UK, France, Spain, Italy and the US.
A user survey was conducted among a
representative sample of drivers in Germany, the US, the UK, France,
Italy and Spain. Additionally, in-car studies of drivers were conducted
in Germany by TUV and DLR, as well as in the US by the Virginia Tech
Transportation Institute. The three consecutive months of research was
completed in May 2008.
A 2007 study done by Nederlandse
Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek, TNO, a
leading Dutch research Institute, showed the positive effects of satellite
navigation on both driving and traffic safety. TNO used two elements
to determine the answer to the central question: “What are the effects
of navigation systems on traffic safety?”. The generic findings from
both research show that satellite navigation solutions have a positive
effect on traffic safety.
Drivers across Europe and the US report
that they feel in control and alert when using a navigation device.
Some specific examples of local statistics include that 80% of German
drivers with a navigation device feel more” in control” when driving
with a navigation device and 66% feel “more alert.”
Seventy-eight percent of the respondents
in the study said they feel they are “on top of things” when using
a satellite-aided navigation system. This results in a reduction of
stress commonly found in drivers who have trouble finding their way
to their destination. Respondents also said they are more alert to traffic
situations when using a navigation device.
Reduction of stress has proven to be
an important reason to use a navigation device, as well as one of the
main effects of driving with navigation in all countries. Some examples
of local statistics include:
• 77% of navigation users in the
UK confirm they use a navigation device to feel more relaxed while driving.
About 74% of UK users said they feel less stressed when driving with
a navigation device.
• Feeling calmer while driving with a navigation device was reported
by an overwhelming majority of respondents in all countries surveyed.
71% of users of a navigation system in the U.S. and 68% of users in
Italy communicated this.
Compared to navigating by conventional
means (maps, written directions), research proves that driver workload
is reduced when using in-car navigation. TUV/DLR (Germany) and the Virginia
Tech Transportation Institute (US) found that the majority of users
in most countries indicated that the use of a navigation system makes
it easier to keep their attention on the road. Some examples of local
statistics include:
• 74% of German navigation system
users found it easier to keep their attention on the road
• 59% of American users found it easier to keep their attention on
the road
The driving surveys also proved that
the number of miles/kilometers driven when using TomTom satellite navigation
is reduced when driving through an unknown area to an unknown destination,
compared to navigation by conventional means. In Germany, drivers reduced
their by 6.5% when using navigation.
A driver’s time spent travelling
was also proven to be reduced when using a navigation device. In Germany,
for example, driving time dropped 11.2%. Fewer miles/kilometers were
driven, saving fuel and benefiting the car and the environment from
running fewer miles/kilometers.
The TNO study of the effects of satellite
navigation on driving and traffic safety showed that satellite navigation
has been a great help in positively influencing the safety of drivers
using these systems.
TNO’s research showed that drivers make 25% fewer stops when guided
by satellites and that using the technology reduces the amount of time
drivers idle their cars by as much as 35%. Satellite navigation systems
also reduce the number of turns drivers make while driving to their
destination. The behavior of drivers also changed, with 50% fewer instances
of “inappropriate” actions taken when on the road, such as ignoring
traffic signs. The study shows that the use of satellite-aided navigation
systems allows drivers to focus more on the actual task of driving,
as opposed to finding their way.
TNO research also showed that vehicle mileage is reduced by as much
as 16% when drivers use a satellite navigation device. In addition,
their time spent actually traveling is also reduced by as much as 18%.
This reduction in time and distance means less fuel is consumed, which
directly translates to cost savings. Regarding insurance claims, the
research found that drivers who do not use a satellite navigation device
make 12% more damage claims than those who use satellite-aided navigation
devices.
TNO’s research, conducted in the Netherlands in 2007, was commissioned
by various companies, and there were three elements used in the data
analysis: user surveys, damage database analysis, and test drives. User
surveys were conducted to determine how drivers feel when using satellite
navigation systems. The damage database analysis was done to determine
the number of damage claims filed by drivers with satellite navigation
systems and by those without them. Test drives were conducted to gauge
the effectiveness of the satellite navigation systems against other
navigation methods.
Various companies that produce devices
that subscribe to satellite navigation commissioned the non-profit organization
to conduct the research. These companies are Aon, Athlon Car Lease,
Delta Lloyd and TomTom.
While a direct correlation cannot be
made from the car studies, the data clearly provides strong insight
on the safety benefits of in-car/in-cab satellite navigation.
Today’s trucking-specific navigation
provides data to help drivers make safer on-the-road decisions. Information,
such as roads and neighborhoods not suited for large trucks, road restrictions,
hazmat routes and preferred truck routes, helps make for a safer environment
for drivers. With in-cab navigation, gone is the question: Can I make
that corner? Or, can I make that bridge? The length, height, and weight
of vehicle help navigation systems provide answers to road- and safety-related
questions.
With integrated navigation, there are
no surprises while on a route, which leads to safer, stress-free driving.
If your drivers need to drive unfamiliar routes or deal with road construction
or other temporary obstacles, integrated navigation proves its value.
Today’s integrated navigation systems
feature:
Seamless integration, with
routing and dispatch functions
High-speed wireless communications
GPS signals collected by
onboard computers for real-time navigation
Integration with fleet
operations systems
Truck-specific map data
that includes highway and street miles, and truck restrictions, including
bridge heights, load limits, left-turns, dangerous turn restrictions
and road speeds
2D and 3D map presentation
on a high-resolution touch-screen display
Additional functionalities include
turn-by-turn directions with natural voice prompts, the latest street-level
maps, smooth on-screen movement and professional point-of-interest icons,
such as truck stops, rest stops, weigh stations and other useful driver
services.
The features and capabilities of integrated
navigation help with safe and stress-free driving on truck-legal roads.
And, just as important, integrated navigation improves driver safety
by reducing accidents and instances of costly fines and vehicle damage.
What will the future of navigation
bring? The next development milestone will involve integrating truck
navigation functionality into a complete information system that connects
the driver and vehicle with the outside world. With the increasingly
complex trucking and road environments, drivers and vehicles are increasingly
involved in potentially hazardous situations. The more information
obtained from various data sources—to be used by drivers and fleet
managers—will enhance safety for everyone on the road.
With multiple-point routing, calculating
a more efficient route between multiple stops increases the safety of
drivers. Information about how long it will take to get to a particular
destination can be obtained and an alert sent to the driver about his
available hours of service to keep the driver in compliance. Traffic
alerts in most major metro areas that will notify drivers of traffic
delays and road construction so they may detour around the incident.
Adding real-time traffic information to navigation helps drivers plan
ahead to avoid congestion.
Information systems the provide warnings
of upcoming road conditions and truck hazards along a route, such as
sharp curves, steep grades, narrowing roads, give drivers a clear picture
of the road ahead. With lane-assist information will guide drivers to
the proper lanes for navigating complex highway interchanges. And, informed
drivers make better decisions.
Nuance Communications, a leading supplier
of speech and imaging solutions, published the results of a 2008 In-Car
Distraction Study, which measured the positive impact to safety and
response times when people use speech recognition to control their in-car
systems.
Implemented by the Technical University
of Braunschweig in Germany, the 2008 In-Car Distraction Study is based
on the Lane-Change-Task (LCT) test, an International Standards Organization
(ISO) certified test that exposed 30 drivers to a range of driving skills
assessments, challenging each to drive while performing various common
tasks within the car. The test simulated driving and changing lanes,
all while simultaneously selecting music on an MP3 media player, making
phone calls and setting the address on a satellite-based navigation
system.
The test included objective measurements
on each of the drivers’ ability to maintain a steady course and perform
smooth and safe lane changes. It also measured their eye movements and
situational awareness of their driving safety zone. The study also included
subjective assessments by the observing scientist and the drivers themselves
on safety and performance of the tasks.
The most significant finding of the
2008 In-Car Distraction Study is that speech-recognition significantly
reduces distractions and improves driving performance while selecting
music, making calls and using navigation systems
in the car. Further, the data shows that speech recognition, combined
natural-language-understanding technology, delivers the most dramatic
benefits in reducing distractions in the car. Natural language understanding
enables in-cab devices to accept multiple variables in a single voice
command, such as “Go to Broad Street, Philadelphia” as opposed to
responding to independent prompts for city, street and street number.
Key Findings of the 2008 In-Car
Distraction Study
Setting Navigation Address —
Not surprisingly, using a cumbersome manual interface to enter city,
street and street number into a navigation system, results in significant
safety risks. In contrast to entering information manually, voice destination
entry resulted in literally one-tenth the instances of swerving while
staying in a single lane and 30% less distraction while changing lanes.
In-lane Deviation — The study
also measured how often drivers moved from the perfect lane position.
The drivers showed significantly less deviation when controlling the
tested devices by voice, versus manual input, with speech input resulting
in 50% less deviation from the ideal when entering a destination.
Swerving in Current Lane —
The study measured how much drivers had to correct their position when
staying in the current lane. When compared to speech input, drivers
using manual input swerved within the lane up to 1,200% more often for
navigation entry.
The same Nuance study showed that with
natural speech recognition, drivers were better able to keep their eyes
on the road.
Eyes on the Road — The analysis
of drivers’ eye movements revealed that voice commands help drivers
keep their eyes on the road, reducing driver distraction. On average,
speech input helps keep drivers’ eyes on the road 200−300% more
than for drivers using manual input.
Natural Speech Input — The
study exposed an interesting finding within the different speech recognition
interfaces used, especially for navigation entry.
It compared the impact of using:
a conventional destination-entry-by-voice
system that requires the confirmation of each the city name, street
name and building number
to
an advanced user interface
requiring a single confirmation for all three (city name, street name
and building number).
While the conventional-speech-input
system for city, street and address reduced reaction time by 24% compared
to manually entering information, the system supporting the single voice
confirmation for city, street and building number reduced reaction time
by 47%.
The ability to display relevant information
to the driver in safer ways is being explored. Drivers will be
able to have a heads-up view of their surroundings, very similar to
the technology used in today’s fighter jets. The pertinent information
will be displayed on the windshield, when needed, to help guide the
driver.
Making Virtual Solid, MVS, a start-up
engineering company based in New Jersey, is working on exciting new
technology that will help make this a reality. MVS is developing
an en-route system, sitting on top of navigation software, which uses
an image of a cable. The cable is presented as a navigation object
in a heads-up display to indicate a route that a vehicle should follow.
In particular, the cable appears to
a driver to be a “real” cable in the landscape. The cable
provides with driver with the flow of the landscape when the vehicle
is moving. The images correlates the points on the cable with
locations in the landscape and serves as a useful tool for indicating
to the driver the route the vehicle should go.
For more information on Making Virtual
Solid’s Virtual Cable, visit www.mvs.net.
For more information
on XATA and its two flagship products, XATANET and MobileMax, visit
xata.com or call 1-800-745-XATA (9282).