TRAVINFO PROJECT TESTS VEHICLE NAVIGATION UNITS IN BAY AREA

SAN FRANCISCO–A new federally funded intelligent transportation system (ITS) project will allow companies to assess how mobile information will affect travelers as they commute to work. The project, called TravInfo, was launched this week in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Etak Inc., at its annual 1996 User Group meeting here, said it is working with Clarion Corp., which plans to launch a vehicle navigation unit in the United States early next year, to test 25 Clarion NAX 9200 car navigation systems in selected test vehicles during TravInfo. Also participating in the project are Cupertino, Calif.-based Differential Corrections Inc. and Houston-based Metro Networks.

The project will allow Etak and other participants to determine whether there is a market not only for vehicle navigation, but real-time information such as traffic incidents, traffic speeds, road conditions and other news that is piped into the navigation unit through an FM subcarrier. Industry analysts say that vehicle navigation features alone will not attract U.S. consumers.

"We see a big future market for vehicle navigation. Tests such as [TravInfo] allow for more education [by the public] for ITS," said Larry Sweeney, Etak ITS Group vice president and general manager, who helped to write the original grant for the TravInfo project. "We hope to test real-time traffic information with Sony vehicle navigation units in the future. We also are using the CUE FM subcarrier system for another [ITS] project in Seattle."

The in-vehicle test will end in late 1997, but the overall TravInfo project lasts for two years. Besides vehicle navigation testing, TravInfo will provide organizers ITS market testing of pagers, cellular phones, public transit routing and schedules and van and taxi services for disabled travelers.

• AT OUR DEADLINE: Dallas-based HighwayMaster Communications Inc. [HWYM] received a $20 million equity investment from SBC Communications Inc. [SBC]. SBC’s initial investment will be in preferred stock, which will be convertible into common stock at the rate of $12.50 per share, HighwayMaster said. In addition, the Erin Mills Group is chipping in $10 million in common stock and has converted $10.8 million of existing preferred to common. Other investors, The Carlyle Group and The Clipper Group, converted $12.7 million of debt, due to mature on Dec. 31, to common stock.

P.S. If you have a question or comment for the editor, contact Kevin Dennehy at 303/369-3230, 303/369-1817, fax, or e-mail [email protected]. Stop by the GLOBAL POSITIONING & NAVIGATION NEWS/PHILLIPS SATELLITE GROUP booth at the ITS WORLD CONGRESS in Orlando, Fla., Oct. 14-18.