The first satellite tour guide has been invented and launched in South Africa. Aimed at the estimated market of at least half a million self-drive tourists who visit the country every year, the unique virtual tour guide is activated by Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. Called SmartGuide, the virtual tour guide is an on-board easy-to-use mini-computer that uses GPS to activate the system at places of interest or to give travel directions via the car’s sound system.
SmartGuide is the brainchild of electronic engineer and inventor Brian Segal, who spent three years developing the concept. Over the past 18 months, he has meticulously recorded the exact GPS location of points of interest in the Cape Peninsula, Winelands, Overberg, Garden Route and central Durban. Last year SmartGuide was one of the winners of the Enablis Information Communication Technology Entrepreneur Challenge as well as a finalist in the Emerging TT100 competition.