Creating the world's next greatest vehicle nav system

Oct.15, 2024

Creating the world's next greatest vehicle nav system

Car navigation systems are now an indispensable part of the mobility experience.  AISIN was the first to develop a voice navigation system which became the prototype for modern navigation systems that were ahead of their time. The rapid growth of smartphones and the emergence of navigation apps have brought about major changes in the navigation system industry. IAs one of the first developers of in-vehicle navigation systems, AISIN released the smartphone app NAVIelite (2011–2022) and other products. AISIN is now among the world's leading companies of in-vehicle navigation system market share.  

Using our history and expertise, a development team for a new navigation app was formed with the goal of offering high-quality services in a timely fashion with user convenience as the top priority. In this article, the project members speak about what went on behind the scenes in the development process.

Tight development schedules motivate a dedicated team

Yoshihiro Tanabe, who has been serving as development leader since the project's inception, looks back on that time.

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Yoshihiro Tanabe, moviLink Development Team Leader

“This project team was assembled in September 2020 in response to Toyota Motor Corporation approaching AISIN about development of a navigation app for smartphones,. With a tight schedule and a planned release date only six months away, the team set out to make the development process ultra-short, introduce and analyze growth hacking*1, and improve the efficiency of development operations. Considering that it usually takes approximately two years to develop an in-vehicle navigation system, this was by no means a generous development schedule. Even so, there was a positive atmosphere within the team, with the members thinking, ‘How far can we get in these six months?’ and ‘Let's give it a try.’ In particular, many members thought that it was a great opportunity to be involved in developing the app's specifications and the functions it would implement, beginning with the planning stage.”

*1  A method of improving services and products based on user behavior (operations) and reactions

While in-vehicle navigation systems are created and released at a high degree of perfection, the biggest advantage of smartphone apps is that programs can be updated in a timely manner even after release. The development environment allowed each member's ideas to be put to good use and allowed small ideas to be implemented even after release, which also motivated the engineers.

The same quality as in-vehicle navigation systems, directly applied to the navigation app

AISIN is proud of its track record as a leading, in-vehicle navigation company  and wants to remain ahead of  IT companies developing navigation apps in terms of performance, ease of use, and other functionality. Given the limited time until release, there were many different opinions within the team about how far we should push the quality.

“We were particularly focused on providing appropriate guidance by means of a navigation app, using route guidance of the same quality as in-vehicle navigation systems. While pursuing the quality required for a smartphone app, such as appearance and ease of use, one thing we could not compromise on as a manufacturer of in-vehicle navigation systems was the need to embody our philosophy on automobiles. We conducted a lot of trials including driving on actual roads many times, to see if users could reach their destination smoothly,” Tanabe shared.

Overcoming difficulties as one team

Additionally, unexpected events occurred during this development period. Engineer Hiroaki Matsumoto describes what happened:

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Hiroaki Matsumoto, moviLink Development Team member

“Soon after the development began, Apple made changes to their specifications, which meant that the iOS-based development system we had been using up until then was no longer usable, so the development was on the verge of being halted. It took a week to determine the cause. Moreover, the solution required discarding the old system and building a new one. This was our first attempt, so we'd be lying if we said we weren't nervous. Nonetheless, I feel it was a great success that the young staff was able to take the lead in building a new system and operational process.”

Although various difficulties continued to arise, development continued without slowing down. Tanabe explains why this was possible: “We work on development as one team with our customer, Toyota Motor Corporation. Once we had a prototype, we immediately shared it with each other, exchanged ideas, and in some cases made corrections on the spot. By continuing the development at a rapid pace, we were able to release the app on schedule.”

Just six months after the project was launched, Toyota Motor Corporation released the navigation app moviLink*2 in March 2021.

*2 Usable only in Japan

moviLink has many interesting features.  As mentioned earlier, moviLink uses the same algorithm as in-vehicle navigation systems and shows routes that are high quality and easy for vehicles to drive.  Next, it displays easy-to-read maps, showing landmarks in a three-dimensional rendering. Lastly, it is simple and easy to use, especially its search screen. These are packed with the experience we have acquired over many years in-vehicle navigation system development.

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“To be honest, I think the quality of the app at the time of release was acceptable, but I knew more was possible. By focusing on subsequent updates, we were able to bring it closer to the ideal car navigation system,” says Tanabe.

Indeed, since its release in March 2021, moviLink has been improving its features and screens once or twice a month. In the three years since its release, it has been updated 46 times. These updates have included compatibility with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, improving compatibility with in-vehicle devices, and implementing walking navigation to assist with walking from a parking lot to the final destination. In addition, a second major update was made in August 2024 to improve the appearance and ease of use, especially the route search screen. Kyoka Tsukamoto, who joined the project midway through, took charge of this task.

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Kyoka Tsukamoto, moviLink Development Team member

“The level of the quality of the navigation app is the same as that of in-vehicle navigation systems. However, it would be a waste if the app was difficult to use because of the map's appearance and usability. Based on this belief, we have made many small corrections to make the screen easier to see and use. Three years have passed since its release. Now I believe that more and more people are finding it easy to use.” Tanabe added: “Since the initial release, we have been reading all user feedback-both positive and negative - fromsocial media, the opinion box on our official website, and in-store reviews. Our team has been using it to make improvements. We are currently working on further upgrades, incorporating feedback from users.The developers' dedication to this is the reason why moviLink is touted as a navigation app that grows easier to use based on user feedback.”

Creating the future with our knowledge in navigation apps

There are many competitors in the map app and navigation systems category, in smartphone app stores. The brand recognition of moviLink, which can be considered a latecomer in the industry, is inevitably lower than apps that are installed by default. However, actual users have given many positive comments ,on the ease of using Toyota’s navigation system on their smartphones and how easy it is to hear the audio guidance   Because of attention to quality and  steady updates, the app finally reached the number one spot in downloads in its category on the App Store on May 17, 2024. The rating in the store has also improved significantly since release, with better than 4 out of 5 (as of the end of July 2024), which proves that moviLink is clearly capturing the hearts of users.

The interview topics included the future of mobility continuing to evolve.

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“At present, navigation apps are merely one of many consumer services available on smartphones. However, navigation apps have the role of acting as a bridge between the inside of the car and the world outside, which leads toa connected world where people, cars, cities, and society are smartly linked with each other.” In our future development projects, we would like to further incorporate the connected technologies and knowledge that AISIN has cultivated thus far and combine them with the latest technology to contribute to solving social issues like improving the efficiency of the flow of goods and people.” said Tanabe.

AISIN has introduced a variety of technologies and services to the world to transform mobility into excitement. With moviLink , we are just at the starting line.

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