This paper is a progress report on the development of intelligent transport systems and navigation systems in Japan. It outlines several of these major system projects, the problems faced in implementing them, and the attempts made to resolve them in later projects. The first Five-Year Traffic Safety Facilities Improvement Programme began in 1971. The Comprehensive Automatic Traffic Control System (CACS) project ran from 1973 to 1979, and used the latest telecommunications and computer technologies. However, it was never implemented, for various reasons. During the 1980s, the following trends were important: (1) static navigation with an on-vehicle unit and digital road map; (2) resources for (2) resources for obtaining traffic jam information; and (3) wider applications of mobile radio communication media. The following projects realised these concepts: (1) the Road/Automobile Communication System (RACS); and (2) the Advanced Mobile Traffic Information and Communication System (AMTICS). These two projects had several difficulties, but their ideas were used in the Vehicle Information Communication System (VICS) project, begun in 1990. The specific media considered for VICS were the beacon, FM multiplex broadcasting and the teleterminal.
Samenvatting