<Lecture
Summary>
The P-DRGS Consortium is now operating after receiving
financial assistance under the strategic info-communications
R&D promotion system sponsored by MIC (Ministry of
Internal Affairs and Communications). "Just as car navigation
relates to ITS (Information Transportation Systems) in
Japan", VICS (Vehicle Information Communication Systems)
relate to car navigation for conveying traffic jam information.
Of the 18 million car navigation systems , nearly all of
them are probably compatible with VICS.
VICS
are extremely reliable systems that collect traffic information
24 hours a day by means of sensors installed along the
roadside. However, installing sensors on all roads would
cost a staggering amount of money, not to mention the problem
of having restrictions as to where the sensors can be installed.
Obviously, if sensors are not installed along certain roadways,
information for those roads cannot be obtained. Probe information,
on the other hand, is obtained using sensors installed
on a vehicle. The concept of utilizing cars as "probe cars"
and people as "probe persons" is a revolutionary idea in
terms of collecting ITS information.
The P-DRGS
concept aims at collecting probe information through various means such
as the Internet, analyzing the information and then processing it and
sending it to vehicles to provide a wide range of services. For example,
information can be provided by a taxi probe that sends information about
the time required to commute from one location to another, or regional
information such as the weather by analyzing window wiper operation data
when it's raining. Moreover, information on traffic density and speed
obtained from probe data can be analyzed in detail, thereby enabling policies
drafted for traffic and road planning to be more easily explained to citizens.
Here,
I will explain a brief background leading to the establishment
of the consortium. Internet ITS demonstration tests
were performed in Nagoya in 2001. This was followed by
R&D
project in March 2002, which was sponsored by METI
(Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry). That project
yielded the conclusion that the best approach is to use
probe information for dynamic traffic management, as
well as to evolve intelligent navigation. The P-DRGS
Consortium was also established in 2003; its objective
being to "develop dynamic route guidance technology that
uses probe information."
The consortium
is currently developing a next-generation system called "PRONAVI," and
use of the navigation system will be possible relatively soon. The system
actualizes the integration of three "Pros": It makes maximum use of Probe
information to enable Proactive responses to traffic conditions, thereby
satisfying the Professional driver. The major features of the PRONAVI
system include: 1) Use of traffic information from all roads not just
major roads; 2) Prediction of the trip time required considering the day,
time and weather based on past information accumulated; 3) Use of real-time
information to correct and update information accumulated; and 4) Provision
of multi-mode guidance including public traffic routes. Personal computer-based
navigation software with PRONAVI functions that can be set to show the
desired trip start location and destination will be distributed for demonstration
on monitors, and is scheduled for actual use at the ITS EXPO.
Various
companies are currently collecting and providing probe information, but
the data being held separately by each company. In the future, however,
the information will have to be accumulated in one location, and a joint
platform formed that can be used by all. The means of providing the information,
such as simultaneously providing all the data at once or providing it
separately on-demand, is also being considered. Providing it simultaneously
could make digital broadcasting more preferable. But interactive communications
would allow the communications center to understand individual requests
and provide feedback, thereby requiring the use of a variety of media.