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Improving GPS Systems with Traffic Flow Data

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the turn-left-at-the-gridlock dept.

An anonymous reader writes "According to a story in Technology Review, some GPS companies are factoring in traffic flow and time of day. From the article: 'Tele Atlas, a Boston-based company that provides digital maps and navigational content, has integrated new trafficking software into its map database so that drivers can find the most optimal route based on speed rather than distance — for any stretch of road at any hour of any day of the week.'"

5 of 82 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Prisoner's Dilemma by DaleGlass · · Score: 2, Interesting

    What would be needed is to have a central system to control this.

    If you just tell everybody that route A is empty, and route B is clogged then sure, everybody will head for route A and the situation will reverse in a few minutes.

    It's not hard to do it more intelligently: If route A is at 30% capacity and route B is at 70%, make it recommend route A for example 65% of the time. Some people will be sent to the suboptimal route, but this will result in a more gradual change, and will allow slowly creating a balance.

  2. Nothing new by cly · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Here in Japan, my car's navigation system takes into account any congestion and would direct me to the "quickest" route rather than the shortest.

  3. From Beantown with love... by Thirdsin · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Being one of the poor souls who commute to and from Boston, I can say a GPS device that uses traffic speed estimates for best routes won't do much good. I know the city in and out, northbound, southbound, westbound, your only hope is to *1 from your cell phone to check current traffic your side of the commute. If it's jammed more than usual, either wait it out and look good at the office, or pretend your backroad shortcut saved you time (hint, it's always 6 of one, halfdozen of another)

    I'd be happy if my TomTom would allow me a free update to makeup for the oneway roads it has tried to kill me on putting me in the reverse direction. The machines have intelligence, and a sense of humor....

    --
    No words of wisedom here.
  4. Re:It's going to be great when everyone is using t by mthreat · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Why don't they make it provide the safest route, by aggregating and using all the traffic accident data for which statistics are already kept. Avoid the high-risk intersections.

  5. Re:Google maps by Sobrique · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I'm fairly sure though, that my TomTom, whilst it downloads traffic updates, doesn't do it based on 'reporting' of peers.

    Now, if you could set it up so the 'peers' communicated with aggregated flow information, then that would really be a -very- useful trick. 'cars slowing in 2 miles, average velocity 10mph'. 'numerous vehicles stationary between J5 and J6 on road XYZ, congestion or accident or something'.

    Or even just as simple as 'road's getting busy, and slowing down, might want to go a different way today'.