Hassan Karimi

Room 403, IS Building
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Welcome Coffee - 10:30-11:00 am
Talk - 11:00 -12:00Noon

Abstract: The first time the concept of a navigation system for cars was articulated, it sounded more like a fantasy than reality. Who would have thought that two decades later most automobile manufacturers would equip them in their new models? And could anyone have imagined that they would come in handheld sizes providing door-to-door navigation assistance in 3-D? Early navigation systems were called Automatic Vehicle Location and primarily performed navigation tasks based on geocoding and map matching for limited and sparse geographic areas. In the mid 1980s, research in navigation systems gained momentum leading to newer systems capable of static routing and limited driving directions. Navigation systems have advanced dramatically throughout the past 20 years, mainly due to the advancements in key technologies, especially in geopositioning, geospatial information systems, and mobile computing. The term now used to identify these systems is Car Navigation, which support such features as precise geocoding, intricate map matching, navigable databases for a vast amount of geographic areas, multi-geopositioning technologies, dynamic routing, voice guidance and detailed driving directions, and voice-activated instructions. One other technology that has recently become possible for Car Navigation systems is wireless communication, paving the way for the emergence of Driving Assistance Systems and presenting new opportunities for driving activities. The talk will provide an overview of latest developments in Car Navigation systems and discuss Driving Assistance Systems along with new research issues and challenges.

Speaker's Bio:Hassan Karimi’s research interests include geospatial information systems, grid computing, computational geometry, driving assistance systems, and mobile computing.