US trends in navigable digital map databases

Navigable digital map databases have long been recognized as a key element in a wide variety of applications in IVHS and related fields, ranging from in-vehicle navigation to demographic analysis and business planning. The traditional emphasis of navigable digital map database development in the US has been on in-vehicle route guidance products, among the earliest of the major IVHS applications to reach the market. As route guidance products start to reach a broad marketplace, and as other applications begin to get serious attention, there are several notable trends in the continuing development and management of navigable map databases in the US. This paper discusses some of these trends, including issues in database packaging, the need for a national field organization to maintain database currency and accuracy, data storage and retrieval, the emergence of new applications, and US government programs for data creation and transfer