GROUP OF SCIENTISTS OF INSTITUTE OF MATHEMATICS AND MACADAMIAN AR COMPANY DEVELOP INTERACTIVE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM
Noyan Tapan
Nov 11, 2008
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 11, NOYAN TAPAN. A group of scientists of the
Institute of Mathematics of the RA National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
together with experts of Macadamian AR CJSC, the Armenian subsidiary
of Macadamian company (Canada), have launched Optimus Project. It is
planned that as a result of the project’s implementation, it will
become possible to receive global positioning services by mobile
phones in Armenia starting from March 2010, scientist of the RA NAS
Institute of Mathematics Smbat Gogian announced.
According to him, within the framework of the project it is envisaged
creating Map Editor software based on the Global Positioning System
(GPS).
Via the Internet website serviced by this software, tourists will
get the opportunity to orient themselves in the territory of Armenia
in the real mode of time, find the necessary objects and travel to
them, while drivers will also have the opportunity to avoid traffic
jams. S. Gogian said that Map Editor will be compatible with Windows
Mobile system. By visiting the respective website, tourists will be
able to find the necessary place and determine the most convenient
route to it. Transport service providers will be able to determine
automatically the mechanism of servicing as many customers as
possible by available vehicles with the minimum use of gasoline and
time. Besides, the way passed by a tourist may be recorded in the
webiste, and the outline of the given route will be available in
the form of a file to be used in the future. It is planned that the
signs of the objects on the map will be interactive which will allow
to easily provide additional information about objects.
S. Gogian said that the cost of daily servicing of a phone by Editor
Map will make a sum equivalent to 3 dollars. It is envisaged organizing
the sale of this software in three ways: by renting it to tourist
companies for its provision to customers; by permitting to use it,
via the website, for 50 dollars a year; and by organizing car services.
He explained that the GPS-based interactive systems are used by
Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, as well as some companies that produce
electronic road maps. However, there is no information on Armenia’s
GPS maps in their websites, and they have no intention to create such
maps. S. Gogian informed those present that unlike these companies,
the group engaged in Optimus Project intends to use another format
of map files: Map Editor will automaticaly generate a road map from
traffic not in a JPEG format but in a coordinate-vectorial format,
whose use presupposes the preservation and transfer of information
in small volumes (10-100 times less).
For financing the scientific and some technical components of the
project, the scienists engaged in Optimus received a grant of 10
thousand dollars under the 2008 Science and Technology Entrepreneurship
Program sponsored by the RA ministry of economy, the US Civilian
Research and Development Foundation, and the Enterprise Incubator
Foundation.
In the words of S. Gogian, the group of Optimus Project has already
created software for GPS-SM-0.1M device. The import of 80 such devices
has already begun. From December 2008, they will be installed in
vehicles of customer services.