Radio data network operator Cue Corp. made several announcements at last week’s Convergence 2000 show in Detroit, furthering its position as an international traffic and navigation information provider.
Cue said it will use U.S. Wireless Corp.’s RadioCamera system to distribute speed and traffic congestion data to Cue’s customers in the top 20 U.S. traffic markets. The new service will be called “TrafficRadio,” Cue said. The agreement with U.S. Wireless Corp. will allow Cue to add live speed and traffic congestion data to its current service, which until now had been limited to text display, icons and maps.
TrafficRadio will be available in voice and data formats, using Cue’s VoiceTMC technology, which converts data to voice, then broadcasts it as compressed data over the FM subcarriers’ network at 48 kilobits per second.
Cue will manufacture receivers for the new service, which connects to most car radios though a cellular telephone interface. TrafficRadio supports radios from Ford Motor Co., BMW, Pioneer, Alpine, Sony and Becker, Cue said. The Cue radio for the Handspring Visor also will support TrafficRadio.
In relation to that announcement, Cue said it plans to distribute the traffic information from U.S. Wireless over GSM networks.
Gordon Kaiser, chairman and chief executive officer of Cue, said the decision to expand the transmission of traffic data to GSM is motivated by two factors.
“First, there has been a demand by our customers for alternative communication links. Second, Handspring has recently announced the VisorPhone for GSM networks. This new receiver allows us to run the Cue traffic application on the Handspring Visor using GSM as well as our FM network,” Kaiser said.
Cue also partnered with InfoGation Corp. to provide traffic information to InfoGation’s Odyssey 2000 navigation system.
Odyssey 2000 integrates navigation capabilities and instant traffic updates, InfoGation said. Drivers view color-coded icons that denote the severity of incidents and traffic conditions, and the driver also can give the voice command “traffic” to have the computer read details about the incident.
“Instant traffic updates are the single-most requested feature motorists ask for in intelligent transportation systems today,” said Howard Case, vice president of marketing and business development at InfoGation. “Integrating real-time traffic is just one stepping stone to what the future holds for in-vehicle computing.”
InfoGation said the Odyssey 2000 operates on the Clarion AutoPC and is available immediately as an upgrade to existing Odyssey users for $70. The real-time traffic feature requires a Cue receiver and subscription to the Cue service.
U.K. news
In other Cue news, the company said it joined the Automobile Association to launch the United Kingdom’s first radio data traffic information service. The service is expected to be operational by year end, and will be marketed under the AA brand name.
Cue also entered an agreement with Motorola Inc. to support Motorola’s new mobileGT Java-based architecture. Initially it is targeted for automotive driver information systems and will be scalable across a wide range of products, Cue said.
