HIGHWAY is to offer higher safety and location-based value added services where interactions between the person in control, the vehicle and the information infrastructure are addressed in an integrated way. HIGHWAY, through the combination of smart real-time maps, UMTS 3G mobile technology, positioning systems and intelligent agent technology, 2D/3D spatial tools and speech synthesis/voice recognition interfaces will provide European car drivers/bikers/pedestrians/etc with e- safety services and at the point of need interaction with multimedia (text, audio, images, real-time video, voice/graphics) and value-added location-based services.

Within the HIGHWAY integrated safety scenario, the role of digital maps will be central: smart, querable HIGHWAY maps will bring up-to-date information enriched with safety relevant data for the car. These comprise speed limit data to feed speed limit units and dynamic data like relevant traffic or weather information for human and possibly for non-human consumption (eg, maps will be treated as additional sensors by on-board ADAS systems). HIGHWAY maps will help drivers facing critical driving situation resulting from road topography, eg, by delaying incoming phone calls or triggering safety mechanisms based on map information like the radius of the curve ahead or speed limits or data like an accident ahead.

In addition to decreasing the probability for accidents and minimising potential damage to drivers and property, HIGHWAY services will be more cost-effective, efficient (saving time to customers) and informative. In order to address this opportunity, the HIGHWAY Consortium combines a balanced mix of committed e-safety and value-added location-based Service Providers, advanced Research Laboratories from Automotive Industry, major Geo-Spatial Players, large Mobile Telecommunication Operators, Automotive and Handset Manufacturers, medium-sized LBS System integrators.