|
ISO gives car
industry new interface to navigation
systems
As the car navigation industry has grown so has
incompatibility between navigation systems and the
databases that store important location
information. Additionally, there is a need to more
easily develop navigation system applications. ISO
(International Organization for Standardization) is
contributing solutions to those issues with an
International Standard for a navigation system
application programming interface (API).
Car navigation systems use map databases to give
precise driving directions, or to determine the
vehicle's location and provide information about
nearby points of interest, such as restaurants and
hotels. Some newer systems can also receive and
display information on traffic congestion and
suggest alternate routes.
ISO 17267:2009, Intelligent transport systems
&endash; Navigation systems &endash; Application
programming interface (API), will help facilitate
the interoperability between navigation systems and
map databases by providing an interface that will
make information accessible and retrievable as well
as assist developers of navigation systems.
The new standard describes what data may be
retrieved from a database, defines the interface
for access and specifies a set of navigation
function calls. It also describes the design of the
API and gives examples of its intended use.
Furthermore, it specifies the criteria used to
determine if a data access library is in accordance
with the standard.
 "Having
an API that defines the methods that navigation
system software developers may use to select a
travel destination, request a route to a
destination, display the planned path, and guide a
traveler to a destination will improve the
efficiency of the development of navigation
systems," said Carl Stephen Smyth, Project Leader
of the group in ISO technical committee ISO/TC 204,
Intelligent transport systems, that developed the
new standard.
While ISO 17267:2009 is primarily targeted at
self-contained in-vehicle systems, it is expected
to be usable by other applications that use map
data results in essentially the same way. For
example, it may be usable in a client/server
environment and/or by distributed navigation
systems and location-based services without further
specialization.
ISO 17267:2009 is not restricted to physical
media and is independent of any underlying physical
storage format.
ISO 17267:2009, Intelligent transport systems
&endash; Navigation systems &endash; Application
programming interface (API), was developed by ISO
technical committee ISO/TC 204, Intelligent
transport systems, and is available from ISO
national member institutes (see the complete list
with contact details). It may also be obtained
directly from the ISO Central Secretariat, price
224 Swiss francs, through the ISO Store or by
contacting the Marketing, Communication and
Information department (see right-hand column).
Media Contact
Elizabeth Gasiorowski-Denis
Communication Officer,
Marketing, Communication and Information
Tel. +41 22 749 01 11
Fax +41 22 733 34 30
E-mail gasiorowski@iso.org
MORE
INFORMATION
|
