Test creates GPS network to spot traffic jams

We've seen a number of experiments that attempt to link drivers together, with goals like music sharing and social networking (which would really put the Mo in MoSoSo), but here's one that might actually be worth the effort: A $1.3 million study by New York's Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (funded by federal and state highway officials) links GPS data from participating vehicles into a central database and spits back data on traffic patterns. A driver with the right equipment gets realtime warnings if he's about to enter a congested zone, and can then route around it. Sounds great, but we can't help but wonder: if everyone's connected, and they all follow the same prompts to avoid congestion, won't the traffic just hit them all when they adjust their route — and again, when they swerve to avoid the jam they've just created?

[junglee @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

i would imagine any such system would be able to redirect traffic in such a manner that it not only alleviated current gridlock but also pervented future gridlock by not diverting everyone to the same direction. it would essentially be a matter of a Traffic Management system that controlled the flow of traffic by dispersing it using alternate routes but being aware of not creating overflow from the relief elsewhere.

[Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

I'll just wait for a traffic system similar to that portrayed in the Minority Report.

Holding breath...now!

[Andrew @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

I don't think further intelligence is required in the system to avoid a new traffic jam on the new route. The system is simply self-balancing: as soon as the congestion level on the second route reaches levels comparable to those on the first route, no new vehicles will be directed to the second route. The system incorporates feedback by design.

[Mike Sierra @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Note the system doesn't appear to specify alternative routes, so it's really not much different than the system we have now. If I run into a traffic jam on the highway I take to work, I'll get on my favorite alternate route. But if it's really bad, I expect many others will clog that route, so I get on a lesser-known route. A niftier system would be to track all known routes I can take (& combinations thereof), then tell me which would likely be the fastest.

[Brian @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Eventually we will have an on-rails Minority Report system of trafficing vehicles. This is only how it begins...

[Dragonslayer @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

The solution to me seems to simply alert the driver via the GPS of congestion, but not offer a specific route. The GPS implementation will have to figure out what to do with the information. Some systems may auto-reroute based on some algorithm. Some may offer the driver many reroutes to choose from. The driver may simply reroute without using the GPS system using his own knowlegde of the area. You could also imagine being able to set a threshold of congestion before rerouting is activated. Each driver may have different tolerances and therefore reroute at different times.

[Ron Austin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Cell phone companies could track their customers while driving. The cell technology may not yeild quite as accurate a location as GPS ... but this could be compensated for by the volume of data and some smart software.
Then the cell phone companies provide a paid service that the drivers check before and during the commute.

[future flyer @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

just make flying cars, then there can be infinate lanes above and below each other, no traffic jams. problem solved hahaha

[Jarno @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

In Holland tests are already (starting to get?) underway to use cell phone information to map traffic density on secundary roads (primary highways already have sensors embedded in them: see http://www.anwb.nl/verkeer/verkeersinformatie_nederland.nl.html for the result of that). I hope this will both work and be implementable cost-effectively and that the resulting congestion information will be added to the TMC broadcasts on selected FM radio stations. Then I'd be one happy puppy, as my in car navigation already uses this to dynamically route me to the faster route.