An essential condition for information services targeted at drivers is that information must be provided safely even while they are driving. With conventional telematics services, users generally decide the information they want to obtain through a process of entering inputs several times via an onboard device, and the desired information is then downloaded from a system at an information center. With respect to the presentation of information, most onboard systems require that users actively view information displayed on their navigation monitor. In contrast to this conventional approach, an on-demand radio-type information service system has been developed and was implemented in March 2002 as a commercial service called "AutoDJ." This system incorporates a human-machine interface (HMI) that enables drivers to obtain information with just one input operation. Moreover, information is presented in a format that users can listen to passively similar to a radio or TV program. This on-demand radio-type information service system thus achieves an information presentation style whereby users obtain information by selecting a channel as if they were choosing a radio or TV channel and presents information in a program-like format. As a result, it enables drivers to obtain telematics services with an operational workload comparable to that of the car radio. This paper describes the technical issues involved in the development of the on-demand radio-type information service system and the technical approaches taken to resolve them.
Samenvatting