Current and Emerging Navigation Needs for Surface Transportation

Hans van der Wal

Abstract:	Navigation needs for surface transportation are the logical consequence of transportation demands induced by changes in human activities patterns and the transportation environment. Hunting and trade have probably created the frost navigation needs in the early days when these activities did travelling beyond the familia area of their settlement. Knowledge about routes, facilities, potential travel conditions and risks in those days were essential to arrive at the destination without problems. In unknown or high risk areas the assistance of local people have been very helpful to ensure optimal and safe transportation. Despite the transportation environment having changed considerably in comparison to those early days, there is still a need for this type of knowledge. Advance travel information and guidance system will take over the role of local people and decrease the importance of personal knowledge. Participants in surface transportation have a definite need to regularly assure the quality of their navigation. The necessity of frequent confirmation that the right route is being followed can be considered of fundamental importance to surface transportation. Visual recognition, conscious or unconscious, still plays an essential role to fulfil this need. In the future, however, navigation system or services will to some extent take aver this role. Natural or man made reference points which have always been used for this purpose will probably loose some of their importance, but will remain certainly important to regularly check the validity of the navigation system information. Without those surface based reference points surface navigation was extremely difEcult in the past, and could only take place with clear sky conditions when the sun or the stars gave some guidance. The emerging availability of low cost satellite position reference aids for surface transportation will satisfy the need for spatial referencing in a modern way. The construction of roads led to increased travel and transportation demands. Markers and signposts were erected to provide navigation and information needs at that tim. At road intersections two dimensional signposts did give some guidance to the road user in terms of destinations and related distance or travel time.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 49th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1993) June 21 - 23, 1993 Royal Sonesta Hotel Cambridge, MA
Pages:	19 - 24
Cite this article:	Wal, Hans van der, "Current and Emerging Navigation Needs for Surface Transportation," Proceedings of the 49th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1993), Cambridge, MA, June 1993, pp. 19-24.
Full Paper:	ION Members/Non-Members: 1 Download Credit Sign In