Navteq makes satnavs a bit more "human"

Satnavs are undeniably useful, and much has been done to try and personalise systems with voice skins. However Navteq has just announced a system, at IFA 2010 in Berlin, which it hopes will provide GPS users with a more intuitive - dare we say "human" experience.

Navteq has named this new system Natural Guidance, and instead of the normal regimented and robotic-like commands telling you to turn right in X miles, the new system will introduce landmarks into the equation, in a similar way to a human passenger might guide a driver.

This next step in GPS won't come easily either, as recording road names a distances to locations is one thing, but collecting all the details about the surrounding landmarks is quite another; not only is there more information to collect, but it can also change quite frequently as well.

In response to this problem Navteq states that it, "employs a variety of...criteria to help optimize when and how the guidance is presented to consumers".

The new service is currently available in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin, and New York amongst others and there should be more locations being added later in 2011.

Pocket-lint is wondering whether this new system will also include an "argument mode" for when you misconstrue the satnavs instructions, just for that extra bit of realism.

No word as yet on which devices the new system will be made available for, but as ever we'll keep you posted.