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VW flirts with Google
Prototype vehicle gets satellite-mapping software...

By Reuters

Published: Monday 06 February 2006

The US unit of Germany's Volkswagen said on Friday that it is working on a prototype vehicle that features Google's satellite-mapping software to give drivers a bird's-eye view of the road ahead.

The two companies are working with graphics chipmaker Nvidia to build an in-car navigation system and a three-dimensional display so passengers can recognise where they are in relation to the surrounding topography.

Volkswagen of America, working through its Electronics Research Laboratory in California, is working on other advancements, including automatic personalised information updates for the navigation systems.

The car manufacturer showed off the prototype car at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.

A spokesman for the automaker said there were no definite plans to use the technology inside cars. But the collaboration between the automaker and Google shows the progress the web search leader is making in expanding beyond the computer realm.

Google introduced Google Earth last June as a free satellite imagery-based mapping product based on technology from Keyhole, a company Google bought in October 2004.

Google Earth has attracted controversy since then from governments ranging from South Korea to India for offering a potential national security risk as it enables anyone to zoom in on aerial images of landmarks such as airports.