2011 CES: Zenrin previews a 3D GPS navigator of tomorrow

Consumer Reports News: January 08, 2011 09:55 PM

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this past week, we had a chance to visit the Zenrin booth and preview the GPS navigation of tomorrow with their Guidable City Models (GCMs). These realistic, highly detailed 3D maps of key cities in the United States and Europe can provide street-level guidance that resembles augmented reality, where graphics are overlaid upon a real, outward view.

Right now, this is a business-to-business project, but Zenrin is reportedly in discussions with some automakers and a "major" portable GPS maker. Officials told us to expect this service to be available in 2012 or 2013. Having seen them on an iPhone and iPad, the visuals are impressive, and this view would be a big aid for someone driving in a new city. However, there may always be a need for a bird's-eye view to scan a larger area, especially for traffic warnings.

Current U.S. cities include Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Hollywood, Houston, Las Vegas, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Manhattan, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

A Japanese company, Zenrin was founded in 1948 as a tourist map publisher. They have been doing computer-based mapping since 1984. And they may change how you look at navigators in the future.

Zenrin offers an iPhone app, iAmerica Exit POI, that augments Google maps by providing a guide to businesses at exits. A free version is ad supported, or the full version can be downloaded for $4.99.

—Rik Paul and Jeff Bartlett

See our complete CES automotive coverage, and visit our complete guide to mobile electronics.