BMW has become the world’s first manufacturer to introduce Real Time Traffic Information as part of its onboard sat nav system, delivering live traffic status information as it happens.
The new ‘RTTI’ system replaces the old radio-based ‘Traffic Message Channel’ TMC and, says BMW, is far faster and more accurate.
RTTI uses the GSM mobile phone network instead of the radio network, delivering traffic information to an onboard SIM card. It is updated every three minutes and is so accurate, it can divide areas such as roadworks into distances as short as 500m.
The BMW ConnectedDrive onboard navigation system then uses this information to display the traffic information graphically. BMW says a colour-coded graphics display will show how well traffic is flowing on route, and will also give drivers the ability to judge whether traffic is improving or getting worse.
The navigation system can reroute too, but does so more intelligently than current systems: it can judge whether taking a diversion will actually save any time, by monitoring traffic on the alternative route as well.
The new RTTI system is fitted to all new BMW models ordered with the BMW Professional sat nav system. Impressively, it also gives drivers the ability to view RTTI information via a desktop computer or other internet-enabled device too, when planning routes using the BMW Routes website.
