Finding Their Way
From company drivers with mobile communications systems installed in their trucks to owner-operators using a laptop or a cell phone, getting accurate, turn-by-turn directions has never been easier.
By Jim Beach,
Technology Editor
Finding the way from Chicago to Houston is a piece of cake for most truck drivers. The problem often comes in finding the exact delivery address once they get there. But the latest technology can help drivers find their way along that last mile.
According to Bernie Hockswender, director of sales for Rand McNally Commercial Transportation, 95 percent of trucks on the road carry a copy of the company's trucker's atlas. But in-cab navigation devices may eventually take their place.
One system that provides this kind of information is ALK's CoPilot Truck, which generates voice-guided street-level directions and delivers other functions such as routing and mileage capability using ALK's PC*Miler database, fuel tax reporting and hazmat routing. It can automatically recalculate routes based on dynamic factors such as traffic, construction or accidents. It is available for laptop computers, Pocket PC devices, or Windows Mobile-capable smart phones.
Barend de Wit, who is leased to Merchants Motor Freight in Minneapolis, uses ALK's CoPilot Truck on his laptop for navigation. He says he's become so dependent upon the program, "If they ripped it out of my truck, it would be like taking my left arm."
Based out of Mission, B.C., de Wit says the navigation program saves time and makes his life much easier. "A lot of customers want to give you driving directions, but I just tell them to give me their street address, and the program will take me right to it. I always know where I am from the GPS capability, and I always have an ETA for customers."
For drivers who might be leery about the tracking and other capabilities of such systems, de Wit says they're missing the whole point. "I think once a driver uses something like this, they will realize what a helpful tool it is and they realize that it makes their job easier. It helps you plan your day better. It's going to be beneficial, so I don't worry about the Big Brother thing."
De Wit still carries a map book, but he hasn't looked at it for planning a trip since he started using the ALK system. He uses it only when he has to reroute around construction or other problems he might encounter on the route. "I can't see a driver going without some kind of GPS navigation system," he says. "You have to move with the times."
Another in-cab, truck-specific option is Maptuit NaviGo, introduced last fall by Maptuit Corp. and DriverTech. Available through DriverTech's DT4000 TruckPC, a Windows XP platform, the system takes advantage of DriverTech's tri-modal technology (cellular, Wi-Fi and satellite) to provide truck drivers with interactive maps, always centered on the truck, and audible turn-by-turn, truck-specific directions.
There are an increasing number of portable navigation options available that, while not trucker-specific, may be helpful for some drivers.
The Rand McNally GPS Navigator is one such portable navigation device. The Navigator features preloaded maps of the U.S. and Canada and voice-guided door-to-door routing, with automatic rerouting when a driver takes a wrong turn. The program also includes information on points of interest and comes with a Rand McNally Road Atlas and Travel Planner.
Drivers also can download maps and driving directions directly to their hand-held devices such as PDAs, cell phones and even iPods.
DeLorme says its new Street Atlas USA 2007 Plus DVD will have this capability, as well as more than 3.5 million new or revised roads in the U.S., plus street-level detail for Canada.
The new Street Atlas' GPS capabilities include GPS voice guidance on laptops, PDAs and cell phones equipped with a GPS receiver. When used for navigation, the system announces street names and exit numbers instead of just "turn right" or "turn left" instructions. The new system also includes a back-on-track routing feature when drivers have to detour around road construction or other problems.
Tele Atlas announced last fall it will provide digital maps and other navigation content for the soon-to-be released HP iPAQ rx5900 Travel Companion hand-held device. The device will come pre-installed with touch-enable Tele Atlas digital maps, turn-by-turn navigation and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities.
Tele Atlas will also provide navigation and mapping content for the recently introduced Nokia N95 multi-media device and the new BlackBerry Maps application in the new BlackBerry Pearl smart phone.
Also new on the hand-held navigation scene is Garmin International's Garmin Mobile 10 product, which turns Bluetooth-enabled devices such as laptops, smart phones, Pocket PCs and PDAs into GPS navigation systems. The system includes Garmin navigation software and a GPS system. Garmin's Mobile 20 product, designed for smart phones, is a GPS and Bluetooth wireless package that includes a phone mount and data card with plug-and-play maps and navigation system.
Cobra Electronics of Chicago introduced the NAV ONE 2500, a portable, plug-and-go navigation device. Cobra says the new device is "traffic ready," and with an optional traffic receiver and subscription, users can receive up-to-the-minute traffic information in 50 major metropolitan areas.
Of course, many truck fleets have been using satellite-based GPS tracking systems on their trucks for a number of years. Coupled with routing and mapping programs, these systems have grown from merely tracking a fleet's rolling stock into important productivity tools for drivers.
Recent enhancements to these systems include Qualcomm's new OmniVision mobile computing platform. The new system is backward compatible with the company's existing OmniTracs and OmniExpress systems and features driver enhancements such as a text-to-speech feature that, when combined with an optional navigation service, will provide turn-by-turn driving directions. "Navigation is a huge driver frustration issue," says Norm Ellis, vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Wireless Business Solutions. "Especially when they are delivering a load to an unfamiliar large city."
The new Qualcomm system also features an integrated touch screen, color display and a remote control unit allowing drivers quick access to navigation directions and other information.
Teletrac of Garden Grove, Calif., announced last fall a turn-by-turn module for its FleetDirector software. It provides verbal turn-by-turn driving directions once a dispatcher assigns a truck a particular load. "The dispatcher has a choice of typing in the address the vehicle is to be dispatched to, or he can click on a pre-defined landmark," explains Bill Ritzhaupt, Teletrac marketing manager. "That information is entered into the eClient system and, based upon the GPS information from the vehicle, it activates that particular route information. Then the voice prompts begin in the cab, via the message display terminal, and there is voice navigation to that destination."
If the driver takes a wrong turn, the system recalculates the route and provides directions to get him back on course. The system is speed sensitive. It will alert the driver to the turn sooner when the vehicle is traveling at 60 mph than if it were traveling at 30 mph, Ritzhaupt says. Once the truck arrives at its destination, the dispatcher is alerted and the turn-by-turn program automatically disengages.
GeoLogic Solutions also recently introduced a Windows-based in-cab color display unit with on-board navigation functions. The touch-screen display features a high-resolution graphical interface and boasts several new technologies, GeoLogic says.
The new display will be available as an option for new customers and as an upgrade for existing MobileMax customers. Key features include electronic driver logs, text-to-speech capability, mapping and onboard navigation with turn-by-turn directions. The system can be integrated with a fleet's existing software packages.
Meanwhile, routing solutions used by fleets to help their drivers find their way are being improved all the time. Prophesy Transportation Solutions Inc. announced its next-generation mileage product, Prophesy EasyStreet, designed in collaboration with Maptuit Corp. The system offers optimized routing, on-demand directions, truck restrictions and street-level directions. It also provides routing alternatives when roads are closed by weather or other reasons. Your dispatcher can e-mail turn-by-turn directions to your mobile phone.
The EasyStreet database includes data for 53-foot trailers, height and weight restrictions, more than 16,000 toll roads, and a community of 70,000 drivers who regularly provide feedback and notifications on road conditions, allowing updates to the online database to reflect current conditions in near real-time.
Another option, FleetNav Directions from Maptuit, is a system integrated into fleet dispatch that allows drivers to request directions to drop-offs or pick-ups from inside their cab. FleetNav Directions calculates not just the shortest route, but the most truck-friendly route, taking into account distance, speed limits, bridge clearances, tolls, fuel prices and other factors. It works with Qualcomm and Geologic mobile communications systems and can be custom-integrated with other systems. An online subscription version for owner-operators, FleetNav Express, allows you to download the same information to your laptop on the road.
Maptuit also has introduced a navigation system designed to allow drivers to find the closest service location when their truck needs servicing. The vendor data can be fleet-specific or a set of locations recommended by Maptuit.
Rand McNally also recently began offering a street-level data module for its IntelliRoute software for fleets. IntelliRoute Streets uses "the street-level data we use to produce our print Street Guides along with the highway level data," Hockswender says. "That first and last mile are more and more important to fleets and drivers all the time." IntelliRoute is also available in an online version.
While the trusty trucker's atlas probably won't disappear anytime soon, newer technology makes getting there that much easier.
Where to find Navigation Systems
