Vehicle Information and Communication System

Vehicle Information and Communication System (VICS) is a technology used in Japan for delivering traffic and travel information to road vehicle drivers.
It can be compared with the European TMC technology.
It can be transmitted using:

Infrared
Microwaves in the ISM band.
FM, similar to Radio Data System (RDS) or Data Radio Channel (DARC).

It is an application of ITS.
The VICS information can be displayed on the car navigation unit at 3 levels:

Level-1: Simple text data
Level-2: In form of simple diagrams
Level-3: Data superimposed on the map displayed on navigation unit (e.g., traffic congestion data)

Information transmitted includes traffic congestion data, data on availability of service areas (SA) and parking areas (PA), information on road works and traffic collisions.
Some advanced navigation units might utilize this data for route calculation (e.g., choosing...