Driving by satellite into history

MANILA, Philippines – Isuzu Philippines recently showcased its Alterra 2010 Special Edition with a Philippine history-themed drive for members of the motoring media.

The mission was to visit five historic landmarks: Rizal Park and Fort Santiago in Manila; Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite; Mabini Shrine in Tanauan, Batangas; and Rizal Shrine in Calamba, Laguna. The winner among seven teams was determined simply by referring to the kilometer reading on the odometer – the lowest count was tops.

An already daunting drive in terms of distance, the locations of the said destinations prove a challenge to anyone’s mettle. Typically, you’d have to negotiate through feel, occasionally helpful road signs, and the ever reliable “Mama, pwede pong magtanong?”

But our task was made infinitely simpler via the Alterra’s spanking new iNav system – a GPS unit integrated into the central console of the SUV. We only needed to key in the destination (numerous “points of interest” or key locations are available – 86,000 at last count) and the computer showed us the way – literally.

Before sending us off from Ilustrado at Intramuros, new Isuzu Philippines Corporation president Ryoji Yamazaki joked that a navigation system effectively won him some independence from his wife. So perhaps it was with that sense of “independence” that we drove to the places that reminded us of our own struggle for national independence.

First up was a short trip to Fort Santiago, which afforded us first look at the iNav system. Aside from the visual cues on the animated map, the system uses the vehicle’s audio speakers to bark out instructions consisting of distance to upcoming turns, proddings when to take left or right lanes, and confirmation of arrival at the destination.

We found the synthesized female voice soothing but a bit too loud for our taste, until we discovered much later that the volume could be adjusted. Sigh.

At any rate, with fellow Philippine STAR writer Ayvi Nicolas-Cruz at the back, and Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Botchi Santos at the wheel, I had a quaint ride on the Alterra on some familiar and not-too-familiar roads with the iNav in command.

It was quite an experience to pass through tight squeezes and some erstwhile forgotten alleyways in the south. Many times we thought we were hopelessly lost and that the iNav had bungled – only to get a “Eureka!” moment when we discovered the system had merely taken us through shortcuts.

Since our mission was to keep tabs on our kilometer reading to the five landmarks, we always selected “take the shortest route” option. Users can also select the “fastest route,” which takes variables like average traffic speed into consideration.

How does this work? Well, third-party iNav provider, Winterpine Marketing Corporation, does the legwork and conducts on-the-spot research on roads and highways. It programs this on an SD card (a smaller floppy diskette, for us oldies), which in turn goes into the iNav, making it a semi-intuitive system.

Updates are available, of course, as the system cannot fully learn on its accord. You also can’t get information from the satellites overhead that the GPS uses. Yes, the system uses all those things orbiting way up in space. When you’re locked on to the signal of at least three satellites, your GPS device can calculate your 2D position (longitude and latitude) and track your movement. When locked onto to four or more satellites, you can determine 3D position (adding altitude). A host of other information is at your fingertips: speed, bearing, track, trip distance, distance to destination, sunrise and sunset time and more.

“The Alterra’s iNav system features touch-screen operation, customized graphic user interface, turn-by-turn voice prompts, realistic route view, lane assist, off-road direction, English and Chinese languages… and has the most accurate route calculation among all GPS devices on the local market today, displaying the shortest and fastest routes at all times. It also indicates priority highways as well as roads to avoid. Best of all, the iNav features a 2D/3D map display of the route with auto zoom function,” said Isuzu in a release.

All told, the iNav on the Alterra is an easy-to-learn-and-use gadget even for those with an aversion for, well, gadgets. Taking away the guesswork and stress out of grinding your way through traffic to find an obscure destination is definitely a relief for wary drivers with aching rears – especially if they have antsy passengers with them.

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For details, log on to www.isuzuphil.com. The event was sponsored by Isuzu Philippines Corporation, Winterpine Marketing Corporation, and Caltex Diesel with Techron D.