Colin Beatty: Could personal navigation systems herald the demise of much fixed signage? July 3, 2008

"Fixed signage has been the key aid to navigation in a world where most people do not realise that they are even ‘navigating’.

The arrival of low cost, hand-held and vehicle-mounted satellite navigation systems has brought about a revolution in the way we now can now locate and navigate ourselves.

It raises the question of whether fixed ‘navigational’ signage is still relevant. Colin will explore the impact of this emerging technology on our everyday lives both indoors and outside.

Colin’s career has been in navigation and guidance systems. He got his first satellite fix in 1969, from the Transit US Navy Navigation Satellite System. He was in at the start of GPS in 1973 and since then has specialised in applications of satellite navigation. In the late 1980's his own consulting company, CBi Ltd, developed a successful distributorship for Javad Navigation, iMAR and Spirent, and he also ran Ashtech Europe. He supplies consultancy in GNSS applications and problem solving and is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation."

Official Website: http://www.signdesignsociety.co.uk/content.php?folder_id=21