Blaupunkt looks to move from a second-tier European PND maker to a model of innovation with the addition of augmented reality to its PND’s. Called Video Navigation, the augmented reality technology places navigational instructions over top of a real-time video feed of the road being travelled thanks to an integrated 2 megapixel camera. Whether or not live video feeds will be more effective than maps remains to be seen; the technology has so far only been demonstrated in the lab. But the video feed also captures road signs depicting speed limits and signals the driver with a warning, something that traditional PND’s aren’t so adept at as mapping companies can’t always keep up with changes.
The Blaupunkt TravelPilot 500 and TravelPilot 700 will both feature Video Navigation powered by a SiRFtitan chipset, 500 MHz ARM9 core processor and a 266 MHz secondary processor. TMC ready and featuring a database of both Western and Eastern European TeleAtlas maps, the TravelPilot duo come packed with a flurry of non-navigational add-ons like Bluetooth, WiFi, and a software suite with an internet browser, email client and Microsoft mobile business apps.
The only major difference between the two looks to be the DVB-T receiver built into the TravelPilot 700, the mobile TV format now adopted by most European countries. Oh, and of course the price. Not by much though. When the Blaupunkt pair ship later this month they’ll both be priced between €400 and €500.
via gpsbusinessnews
