Not sure how versed they are about global navigation systems, but Jamaica National Building Society General Manager, Earl Jarrett (right), and executive, Leon Mitchell (center), gave their two-cent worth to Dr. Parris Lyew-Ayee at the launch of Jamaica’s first GPS navigation system
Ever think you know exactly where you're going only to get half-way and realise you are absolutely lost?
That may be about to change as the Mona GeoInformatics Institute (MGI) launched Jamaica's first Global Positioning System (GPS) Navigation called JAMNAV, on Thursday, March 5 at the Senior Common Room at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus. The product was actually 'soft launched' back in December '08, but most folks were hearing about it fully for the first time.
The system features 69 categories including police stations, attractions, banks, gas stations, restaurants and cemeteries, plus thousands of Jamaican roadways. The system also comes in phones (like the current favourite, the BlackBerry) and has some nifty innovations like giving instructions in foreign languages (we hear Jamaican English is coming soon).
Demonstrations from the MGI team (led by director, the whiz, Dr Parris Lyew-Ayee) and representatives of GARMIN, the local hardware distributor of the GPS Navigation, also captured the interest of especially the not-so-technologically savvy. Some of those demonstrations came in the showpiece cars that are GPS-ready, including the Nissan Navara and the Mercedes-Benz M-Class. So drivers will be able to find their way around easier. Now if we can just get them to drive properly.
Among those who did not get lost en route to the venue were Russian Ambassador Victor Zotin, Earl Samuels, Richard Bowen, Peter Jarvis, Breanna Rae, Francois St Juste, Sherene Jones, David Crawford, Janice Henlin, Professor Dave Barkar, Dr Ronald Young, Camille Bell-Hutchinson and Carmen Tipling.