NNG looks to assist on-road safety in India with advanced navigation support solutions

NNG, which develops navigation solutions for the global automotive industry, supported by cloud connectivity, smartphone integration, and HMI services, is looking to assist the safety effort in India.  

According to data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) earlier this year, there have been about 450,000 road accidents in 2014 and a majority of these were caused by human error. Wrong decisions, lack of information about the surroundings or insufficient experience can easily lead to accidents causing damage or even injuries. Safety of driving has always been a focus point for carmakers, and this intention remains central as the cars include more and more electronics and smart solutions.

Péter Bolesza, vice-president of Eastern Europe and Emerging Markets at NNG, said, “As a leading navigation solution provider across the globe, we aim to define the core driving experience and make it safer. Software and intelligent technologies can support this by helping the driver make correct decisions. Hardware is only one part of the solution, the driver has to be aided by the correct software. We, at NNG, take road safety very seriously and strive constantly towards catering to the needs of an ever evolving industry.”

Besides protective technology it is also essential to see what preventive measures can be taken. Technology can be utilised in multiple ways to ensure prevention of road mishaps:

-  Navigation-related techology can provide real time traffic information, route recalculation and prepare the car according to the planed route. For example lane guidance that warns the driver to change lane well in advance.

-  Technology used to support driving which basically uses the car’s sensors to gain information about the vehicle and its surroundings in an integrated system. This data can be used to provide adaptive cruise control, automate braking, incorporate GPS / traffic warnings, connect with smartphones and alert drivers.

-  Technology to reduce driver distraction by defining the core driving experience like touchscreen, rotation control and voice recognition.

NNG’s iGO Navigation supports all these features with an added advantage of being localized to suit the Indian roads. The company is already working on a project in India for a commercial vehicle fleet where based on navigation-related data, they can monitor the driver’s behaviour. This will not only allow NNG’s partner company to keep track of their fleet but also this will also allow them to identify drivers who might need further training.

The company says its iGO Navigation Software is currently installed in more than 20 million devices worldwide, with over 30 million signed orders from over 30 global car brands. NNG has a global footprint through 12 offices and 4 auxiliary offices around the world, including Hungary, Japan, the United States, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, Israel, India, Brazil, South Africa, China, and Hong Kong.