Development of Toyota in-vehicle equipments for the VICS demonstration test

This paper presents Toyota's new design concept, features, and evaluation results of 3-types in-vehicle equipment which were developed for the VICS demonstration test (1993): Type 1 is a navigation system with dynamic route guidance; Type 2 is a pictorial map display system; and Type 3 is a text display system. We introduce some examples of these displays and describe their detailed features. The Type 1 system has been developed on the basis of our current navigation system with additions of FM-multiplex, microwave-beacon and infrared-beacon receivers. Drivers can get in advance not only the traffic information such as congestion, accidents and so on, but also an optimum route on the full color map display with voice guidance. The Type 2 system can display a simple deformed pictorial map instead of a digital map; it features voice recognition operation and synthesized voice announcement of text data. The Type 3 system has been developed as a part of the audio system; it features a 30-character display and synthesized voice announcement of text data.<>