DATEX: DATA EXCHANGE IN EUROPE
A Sala, G Trenta · Traffic Technology International · 1996
The DATEX initiative is a joint project of the European Commission's DG-XIII/C6 working group and the Belgian company ERTICO; it aims to provide Pan-European interchange of traffic and travel information. This article outlines the work completed so far, for compiling a user dictionary message structure and common geographical referencing system for DATEX. In 1996, the DATEX Task Force examined interoperability issues between existing traffic and travel information exchange systems. DATEX-Net Specifications for Interoperability has been developed as a common interface which satisfies the requirements of existing systems. In designing these specifications, it also allowed for requirements for disseminating information to drivers, including those for easier message generation. An enhanced Version 1.1 of the specifications has now been issued, and is briefly described by the article. DATEX-Net is the only solution, proposed so far, for exchanging traffic and travel information across Europe. Some European Union Member States have already officially recognised DATEX as a solution to be adopted, not only for cross-border exchange, but also to be used sometimes to exchange information between different systems implemented in the same country.