It seems that satnavs may be moving towards a more sophisticated future. Not content with the simple turn-by-turn directions available from today’s satnav offerings, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of technology (MIT) have developed an in-car personal robot designed to offer the same kind of guidance as “an informed and friendly companion”.

The Affective Intelligent Driving Agent, or AIDA, analyses driving patterns, keeping track of common routes and destinations, and incorporates real-time event information and knowledge of environmental conditions, as well as commercial activity, tourist attractions, and residential areas.

AIDA assimilates this information and uses it to calculate goals the driver might like to achieve, such as a visit to the shops via the quickest route, a stop at the petrol station when the fuel tank is running low, or simply guiding you to work and back home. The system communicates with the driver through a small robot embedded in the dashboard, which can also read the driver’s mood from facial expressions and other cues.

The aim is to develop a system which enriches the driving experience by delivering useful and informative guidance gleaned through the observation of individual driving habits.

Whether or not the system will be released commercially is tentative, however as the project has been developed in partnership with VW/Audi, we might expect some helpful robotic guidance in Audi vehicles in the not too distant future.