Navigation method using a small volume of data

A method of routing a vehicle using a navigation system in the vehicle which comprises a control unit, and an input unit and an output unit which are connected to the control unit, an odometer, and a communication appliance for communicating with a central station which is located outside the vehicle and contains a digital road map having data, comprising the steps of:

• calculating a route outside the vehicle using a starting point and a destination which are transmitted from the vehicle to the central station, and the data of the digital road map, wherein characteristic road points are transmitted to the vehicle, said characteristic road points representing a road junction, and a road distance between adjacent characteristic road points on the route are stored in a memory element in the vehicle,
• on reaching a characteristic road point, beginning a distance comparison between a distance from the road point reached to the next road point and a distance traveled from the road point reached,
• wherein the distance from the last road point reached is continually ascertained by the odometer in the vehicle, and the distance ascertained in this manner is compared with a stored distance between the last road point reached and the next road point on the route, and
• if a minimum value for the distance from the next road point has not been reached, a driving instruction is output.

A method of routing a vehicle using a navigation system in the vehicle which comprises a control unit, and an input unit and an output unit which are connected to the control unit, an odometer, and a communication appliance for communicating with a central station which is located outside the vehicle and contains a digital road map having data, comprising the steps of:

• calculating a route using a starting point and a destination and the data of the digital road map, wherein characteristic road points, at which there is a road junction, and the road distance between adjacent characteristic road points on the route are stored in a memory element in the vehicle,
• on reaching a characteristic road point, beginning a distance comparison between a distance from the road point reached to the next road point and a distance traveled from the road point reached,
• wherein the distance from the last road point reached is continually ascertained by the odometer in the vehicle, and the distance ascertained in this manner is compared with a stored distance between the last road point reached and the next road point on the route,
• if a minimum value for the distance from the next road point has not been reached, a driving instruction is output, and
• wherein current traffic information is taken into account for route calculation.