When you write a product review there is usually a question - ''would you recommend it to your friend'' and in case of the this product, the answer would be ''he/she better buy it!''
Wonder why ?? Because its technology and marketing all combined into one !
Dash Express is apparently the first two-way Internet-connected GPS navigation system (homepage: http://www.dash.net/ ). The system is based on a dash driver network where the dash servers receive timely updates from ALL dash users and this updated information is periodically sent to ALL dash users. This is pretty much like a friend calling you and asking you to avoid a route because he/she is already stuck in traffic there. This reminds me of OSM (Openstreetmaps - here is a really cool link where you can see the road network grow in Munich - http://www.geofabrik.de/en/gallery/history/index.html#munich), where one can upload GPS tracks to populate the road network and everyone mutually benefits from it....its amazing to see how this live and let live policy has populated the Germany road network from virtually nothing to nearly 80% (rough numbers, dont hold me to it) !
As cool as this is, it also means the more the dash users in a region, the better your information and henceforth issuing updates are going to be. Currently this is available only in the US and when I queried google for a review, this is what I found.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/27/dash-express-review/ - some excerpts from the review (Note that this review is from 2008 and there have been quite a few updates in the last year):
''almost every GPS can tell you where the nearest gas station is, but the Express actually looks up the latest prices for you and points you to the cheapest.'' - somehow makes me feel like getting closer to ''machines over man'' scenario.....
''Once you enter a location, the Express calculates three routes based on traffic, distance, and time, and you can pick which one you'd like'' - I wonder how this will work in T-Nagar area (or in any city in India for that matter)......I would dare dash express to try it :D !
Well...the next time I am in the US, I would definitely try to get one just for the sake of using it and seeing how helpful my dash network friends are !
Sounds interesting.. I would really like to know how the users input their info. If not well designed this could be worse than cell phone use. Also I wonder if the updates are asynchronous. That would make such a device more useful.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Always wanted some GPS that would give live updates on traffic. I wonder how the user should feed the input.. if not well designed it cud be worse than using cell phones on the road. Also, is the feed asynchronous? that would be the most useful feature.
ReplyDelete@ Charanya
ReplyDeleteIf you simply mean live updates on traffic, many GPS systems do that from sources like fleet companies, road sensors but the dash feature is also to make you, the driver, a part of the traffic update. When you travel a route, the route, time taken and traffic scenarios are stored in your dash device and asynchronously fed to the dash server (using WiFi). This information is made available to other dash users by an update from the dash server. Naturally, over time and with more data, the traffic profiles and the traffic prediction models improve, so you will know exactly what roads to avoid on a friday evening.
well, as Ch said, if designer well causing minimum distraction to the driver, it cud be wonderful.
ReplyDelete1. If im alone, i shud be able to feed voice and not enter 1K alphabets.
2. the moment someone feeds something I get an alert, only if its on my route. but again, someone shud actually filter the msgs(whether voice or txt) else I can play games and leave a msg for my frnd who is 100 km behind..lol..
@ Vaitheesh
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, the calling a friend example was for ‘laymen’ and not engineers who understand GPS systems. The motive behind that was to explain that your info helps others in the network as well and pretty much using radio signals, so if your friend has a dash system and is stuck in traffic, his update (nothing manual) would tell you (by means of your dash system), a 100 km behind, to avoid that route . Obviously expecting a driver to manually enter any info while driving is a dangerous option and no auto manufacturer would go for that.