Australia’s ITS Industry is given a boost by the granting of Australian Government funding

A project which will reinforce the strength and credibility of Australia’s Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) industry has been given a major boost through the funding of a grant by the Australian Government Industry Cooperative Innovation Program.

Current TMC coverage map of Melbourne Whereis® location table is ©2007Telstra Corporation Limited and its licensors	Until now, Australian navigation and traffic service developers have been forced to develop across multiple location platforms. The grant will assist the Australian ITS industry to facilitate the national rollout of an Australian standard Traffic Message Channel (TMC) Location Table. The Australian TMC Location Table project has been a joint undertaking involving key navigation device makers, digital map developers, vehicle manufacturers and information service providers, and reinforces the strength and credibility of our local ITS industry through this unified approach The Industry Cooperative Innovation Program announces the funding has been granted for “Development and implementation of an Australian TMC Location Table infrastructure in support of advanced traffic & traveller information services.” The announcement continued by saying “This initiative will facilitate interoperability in Australia of the next generation of these systems, and bring Australia into line with existing overseas TMC initiatives.” TMC services connect (GPS) navigation systems to real-time traffic content. Because of the popularity of TMC in other markets, most navigation systems are TMC compatible. Australia, however, has hitherto lacked the infrastructure and investment to bring services to bear in the Australian market. The Australian Standard Location Table will form the critical infrastructure component for consistent, nation-wide location referencing, bringing Australia in line with most other developed countries in its deployment of an agreed standard across the traffic and navigation value-chain. The real benefit is for road users. With a common location table, new services will emerge that promise to improve the road user experience by keeping drivers and passengers better informed about road conditions and traffic congestion and in real-time. Services such as Intelematics’ SUNA Traffic Channel will also help make their travel experiences more efficient and safer. The implementation phase of the Location Table project will be managed under the auspices of peak industry body, ITS Australia. Mr John Patterson, formerly of Toyota Australia, has assumed the role of interim project manager. Full national rollout could take up to two years, however, it is hoped, that all major capitals will be mapped by mid 2008. For more information on TMC please go to www.sunatraffic.com.au The new grant was announced by Australian Industry Minister, Ian Macfarlane MP. Full details are available at: www.ausindustry.gov.au. Organisations seeking further information should contact John Patterson of ITS Australia, or Brian Smith at Intelematics.
Current TMC coverage map of Sydney Whereis® location table is ©2007Telstra Corporation Limited and its licensors
Current TMC coverage map of Brisbane Whereis® location table is ©2007Telstra Corporation Limited and its licensors

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