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MIT Researchers Fight Gridlock with Linux

Posted by Soulskill on from the open-roads-with-open-source dept.

nerdyH brings us a report about a Linux-based device being developed at MIT which aims to reduce traffic congestion as well as assist automotive research projects. "The current focus of the project is in developing algorithms that run on top of the portal application to help drivers plot the best route at a given time. For example, the team's MyRoute project includes applications that model delays observed on road segments as statistical distributions. Various algorithms then use these to compute optimal routes for different times of the day. 'Instead of asking the shortest time or shortest distance from point A to point B, you ask what route should be taken, say, for the highest probability of getting to the airport by a certain time depending on the time selected,' says Madden."

2 of 75 comments (clear)

  1. Re:No live data? by farkus888 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    that may take longer than you are guessing. mostly because uptake of smartphones is going to be quicker among the technically elite. judging by slashdot posts that particular crowd seems to dislike the idea of someone tracking where they are all the time. people who jump on this are probably not going to be getting gps phones till the free phone from their carrier has it. or you could go with the assumption that what is posted is likely far from what these people do in their real lives... for example how many of these privacy nuts use gmail?

    --
    thats right, I rarely use capitals. deal with it. but don't mistake my laziness for stupidity
  2. Re:No live data? by ptbarnett · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Within a few years I don't think we'll just be using statistics of past data, but rather real-time traffic data from cars that link into a real-time network. All it will take is a certain density of smartphones with GPS. The data is already available in many metropolitan areas:

    http://www.xmradio.com/navtraffic/market_coverage.xmc

    The methodology for gathering the info varies, but in Houston they use the electronic tolltags, even on roads that are not tolled. By measuring the time between stations, it calculates the average speed of cars on that segment.

    The results are downloaded into the navigation system in my car, and depicted as green, yellow, or red bars adjacent to the route. However, I've never been able to determine if the GPS routing uses the speed information to calculate the fastest route, as I don't live in an area for which speed information is available. A couple of years ago, it was reported on Slashdot that Baltimore was going to test monitoring of traffic speeds using (presumably generic) cellphones. This article, although somewhat dated, reports initial results and also notes that the state of Virginia is doing the same thing.