Hema Navigator Tells You Where To Go Offroad

Nick Broughall — Thu, 08 May 2008 00:53:04 +0000

You hear a lot of stories about satnavs taking people the wrong way down one-way streets or off an embankment where there’s no road. But what do you do if this happens to you? Well, if Hema Maps have their way, you’ll be using their upcoming Navigator satnav to get back on the road via a bit of off-road action.

The navigator is a product from Australian-owned Hema Maps. It uses their expertise in off-road mapping to create a satnav that can be used anywhere. The hardware is provided by VMS, the same company behind the first in-car satnav.

The features list is pretty long:

4.3 inch sun-readable touch-screen and 20 Channel GPS Receiver

Route 66 Street Navigation with voice guidance, containing the latest NAVTEQ data PLUS it’s the first to contain the new Hema off-road data. So voice nav that doesn’t stop at the bitumen.

2GB SD card is included preloaded with all the maps from Hema’s bestselling Australia 4WD Raster DVD, which includes over 30 Hema regional maps and 1:250,000 topo coverage for all of Australia.

Has Ozi Explorer and Memory Map software pre-loaded.

12v, 240 v power supplies plus a USB cable for updates and overseas mapping.

Comes with a leather-look vinyl carry pouch.

Strong and adjustable windscreen mounting.

The user will be able to add their own maps as long as they are compatible with Ozi Explorer or Memory Map (includes ECWs).

Simplicity: it has been designed to plug and play, with default settings for Ozi Explorer.

Will feature Australian-based tech support on phone and web.

The Hema navigator should hit shops in mid-June for $990. Which isn’t too bad a price for an option that will keep off-roaders very happy. The biggest question though will be just how intuitive the UI is – a solid UI is what makes or breaks a satnav. Hopefully this little Australian model will have what it takes to take on the likes of TomTom.

[Rema Maps]

Magellan Triton GPS with Ground Guidance Tech Routes Around Rivers, Cliffs and Deep Forest

Brian Lam — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 00:45:33 +0000

Most outdoor navs, like the Magellan Triton, just go from point A to point B when navigating off road. Current and future Magellan Triton owners are getting Primordial’s Ground Guidance logic, which calculates routes around rivers, steep inclines and dense tree cover by analysing aerial photography and elevation data (since no one could actually chart all the random routes over the wild.) The Primordial tech Looks pretty cool in action, too.

The methods aren’t new, as Primordial’s site is filled with news clippings from 2006, and I think an old Polaris outdoor GPS had this tech. But Magellan’s press release says the tech is now exclusively theirs. It’s smart, but its probably unwise to depend on such a system to navigate outdoors. Whereas road data goes out of date every few years, the seasonal swelling of rivers, altering of terrain and paths, falling trees, and other quickly changing outdoor conditions are best handled with common sense and local knowledge. Couldn’t be too harmful to know where a deep forest starts and a sheer rock face drops, though. [Business Wire]

Gizmodo Australia » offroad

Hema Navigator Tells You Where To Go Offroad

Magellan Triton GPS with Ground Guidance Tech Routes Around Rivers, Cliffs and Deep Forest