NAVTEQ and CBS Radio plan to offer the NAVTEQ Traffic information service to portable navigation devices and personal digital assistants via the radio data system (RDS) protocol through CBS Radio transmission facilities in major markets across the country.
RDS traffic information enables navigation systems to display personalized, real-time traffic information for a driver's chosen route and adjacent alternative routes. The new service, NAVTEQ Traffic RDS, links up-to-the minute traffic information to map data and enables wireless transmission directly to a navigation device. NAVTEQ Traffic RDS includes data from multiple sources across the nation, including commercial traffic data from Westwood One's Metro/Shadow, government departments of transportation, police and emergency services, road sensors, cameras and airborne reports.
The solution aggregates available data including planned incidents such as road construction, unplanned incidents such as accidents and disabled vehicles, and traffic flow conditions.
Separately, NAVTEQ introduced Urban Explorer, consisting of map and points-of-interest data for mobile devices. It’s expected to support map display, geocoding and proximity searches and will include Fodor's Travel Guide information on restaurants, hotels, shopping, nightlife and arts, and tourist attractions. The beta release is planned for the third quarter, with the commercial launch for selected cities to follow in the fourth quarter.