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Sri Lankan motorist to get SATNav's

Written by Thushara

Friday, 09 July 2010 11:22

SatNav Sri Lanka's Sala GIS (Geo Information System) has developed the country's first GPS (Global Positioning System) map, where a space-based network of radio navigation system satellites can assist motorist find directions and plot routes.
Sala ProSat is the first company to offer GPS navigation that works in Sri Lankan as local maps and landscapes had been already programmed to the system.

The GPS satellite network is maintained by the US government and is freely accessible by anyone with a GPS receiver but need the necessary software and digital maps to pinpoint locations to users.

"Those who buy other GPS from other countries won't work here. Why? Because it does not have (the Sri Lankan) map," Chinthaka Wijewickrama, managing director of Sala Geo Information System, a unit of Sala Enterprises said told reporters at its launch.

"This service is offered without a monthly fee at the cost of the hardware."

The GPS mapping was developed by Sala GIS, a unit of electronics retailer Sala Enterprises, while hardware is from China and the software was developed in Russia.

GPS receivers work by calculating position by precisely timing the signals sent by the navigation satellites orbiting in space.

The Sala ProSat system can plot the shortest and fastest route, and find almost any location in Sri Lanka, Prasanna Suriyapperuma, director at Sala GIS, said.

"This includes all the main roads and by-roads in Sri Lanka."
Sala ProSat is operational anywhere in Sri Lanka including the former war ravaged north and east.

Over 100,000 landmarks, places of interest, police stations, fuel sheds, banks, hospitals, hotels, parks and places of worship have already been pre-programmed on the Sala ProSat GPS.

"This will give you alternate routes if you are stuck in traffic," Wijewickrama said. "Thus users will save fuel and time to a great extent."

The unit can also be programmed to work on voice command in English, but plans are underway to develop a Sinhala version in the near future, Wijewickrama said.

The GPS system despite being commercially available for more than a decade was banned in Sri Lankan due to the 30 year civil war.

GPS navigation systems are widely used in marine, aviation, financial services, defense, security, transport, emergency services and disaster management sectors.

The 3.5 inch Sala ProSat GPS unit is for sale for 35,000 rupees, the 4.3 inch unit is available for 42,000 rupees, while the 5.0 inch unit would cost 49,000 rupees, Suriyapperuma said.

Source LBO

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