[wellylug] TomTom

[Lindsay Hunter]

I am guessing that the gps navigator market has been very competitive.  
Most if not all the map data is unique to each device or group of 
devices, even though it is largely the same information.  Maps have been 
expensive, up to $400 for a new map of say UK, etc.  There is the Open 
Source map project in NZ but that is limited to Garmin I think thus 
far.  If we are to progres, this will need to change.  There are signs 
of this with the new maps for TomTom being online for UKPds30 or so.

See http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS6130585326.html

Development is rapid, and beng driven by several processes.  EU is 
expecting that all cars by 2020 will be capable of identifying their 
position and transmitting it to Emergency Services following a 
collision.  At present, people on motorways usually don't know where 
they are within several miles.

In CA, a new nav product collects data about its progress, ie location, 
direction and speed, and when in a traffic holdup, will transmit local 
conditions to the central db, which then makes that real time data 
available to other gps navigators (of the same brand)

There are standards, but they seem to be limited to a radio broadcast of 
data of local traffic conditions.  Given that there is no reliable 
monitoring of local traffic conditions, they have a long way to go.

It is a factor in the atmospheric carbon dioxide and global warming 
debate, ie managing traffic demand.

I would propose that there should be a local authority data source that 
collects realtime data on traffic movement, and makes it freely 
available to whatever distribution system wants to use it. Web, mobile, 
LPFM, broadcast radio, TV, etc.  Whatever format the db uses, each 
proprietary system could convert and retransmit on the fly.  The data 
rate required would not be high.  And all those vehicles with gps out 
there are sources of data. 

Sounds like a Linux project.  :-D

Lindsay

Bruce Hoult wrote:
> On Nov 14, 2007 10:23 PM, David Antliff <david.antliff at gmail.com> wrote:
>   
>> On 14/11/2007, Lindsay Hunter <lindsay at csw.co.nz> wrote:
>>     
>>> Anybody guess what language this is?  From a TomTom Go 300 GPS
>>> navigator.  It is not the whole file.  I am wondering whether the
>>> associated map is reusable.  :-)
>>>       
>> Looks pretty primitive - probably a proprietary or custom BASIC-like.
>>     
>
> Yes, it's unique to tomtom.
>
> Why people persist in doing this when there are so many proper
> programming languages that are free and easy to embed into other
> programs I have no idea.  It's just stupid.  Why not just use scheme,
> javascript or lua?  Proper progamming languages designed by someone
> with a clue and well implemented.  Even crappy old tcl would be
> better.
>
>
>   

-- 
Lindsay Hunter
Computer Solutions
021 341 232
(4) 934 1702