The paper outlines the state of development of the INFOTEN Backbone, an interregional traffic & travel information exchange network, which represents a major part of the current European R&D project INFOTEN. The INFOTEN Backbone will provide interregional and multimodal information content to commercial added value traveller information services operating in the first stage via information kiosks (Fixed Information Terminal, FIT) and mobile hand held devices (Personal Digital Assistants, PDA). The results of the analysis of user needs on traffic information systems introduced to the area and the process of defining suitable technologies is described. Special focus is given to the underlying reference models. The choice of the DATEXNET specification as the technological basis for the interface systems, which will be enhanced to support multimodal information exchange and enabled to cover also the dedicated requirements of commercial services, is pointed out. A practical example of the use of the INFOTEN Backbone during an end-user service operation is given.
Abstract