The Hindu Business Line : Indian firms working on intelligent cars

Navigation devices have gone from being mere traffic guidance systems to becoming more advanced. Soon such a device would help track a stolen car, immobilise your vehicle remotely and even store medical profiles for emergencies.

By integrating location-based services, these devices would alert drivers when the car needs a refill and is nearing a petrol bunk, according to Mr Anees Ahmed, CEO, Mistral Solutions. Mistral, a Bangalore-based embedded solutions firm, works on car navigation platforms.

Connectivity to such information services is set to mature, according to analyst firm Frost & Sullivan. By this decade end, economy cars will be fitted with intelligent navigation devices, predicts Mr V Bhanu Prakash, Analyst, Automotive and Transportation, Frost & Sullivan. Premium and luxury cars will arrive with traffic navigation in 2008, he said. The Indian navigation market is set to reach $ 126 million in 2011.

At present, the primary challenge in adoption is the high cost of these devices and inaccurate map databases, according to Mr Amit Prasad, CEO, SatNav Technologies, a Hyderabad-based telematics firm. In two years, cars will internationally have navigation devices as a default feature, say industry experts.

With the burgeoning car population (over 1.2 million cars produced) and rising demand, these devices would become more affordable. Navigation would become just another feature set even in the small-car segment, with each device costing Rs 12,000- Rs 15,000 in high volume, said Mr Ahmed.