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Posts with tag traffic

Engadget

Los Angeles Traffic Cam Brings Live Gridlocks to Your Cellphone

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 29th 2008 at 4:08PM


We have all ideas (okay, so we know it for a fact) that the Los Angeles Traffic Cam was designed for those living in LA, but we can't help but imagine how drivers in less congested cities could use this to make their own daily commute not seem so bad.

NBC4 and 3rd Dimension have teamed up to beam out live video and nearly live still shots from some 270 LA-area traffic cameras to those with compatible mobiles, and being that it's ad-supported, the whole thing is completely free to end users. Of course, for all you know, they could just loop a clip of gridlocked traffic during rush hour and call it reality. Sadly, said idea would almost work. [Source: LATimes Blogs]
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Engadget

UK Man Facing Fines for Mooning Traffic Cam

by Terrence O'Brien, posted May 7th 2008 at 5:12PMBreaking News

Man Moons Traffic CamFree advice from Switched: Don't moon traffic cameras. Not only is it juvenile, but it could quite possibly get you in trouble with the law, at least in the UK. Yes, that image on the right is of a man's rear end. The man thought he'd have a little fun with the speed camera in Cramlington, England, but we guess he was unaware that the police could snap a picture at anytime with the camera, not just when a car speeds by.

Police now have the joker's license plate and registration and will be pursuing legal action, though he won't be facing prosecution. Instead, authorities will be issuing fines for public indecency and not wearing a seat belt.

All that just cause this guy thought he was funny. [Source: BBC, via: Boing Boing]
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Engadget

Microsoft Introduces "Clearflow" Live Traffic Routing Service

by Will Safer, posted Apr 10th 2008 at 1:02PM

Clearflow traffic information from Microsoft

Microsoft has announced a new tool for drivers to avoid traffic jams. The service, called "Clearflow", calculates how tie-ups affect backups on local city streets which could mean more accurate rerouting along busy routes. There's no word yet on how this could be integrated into personal portable navigation devices.

According to a report in the New York Times, Microsoft's new Clearflow is the result of a five-year project by the company's artificial intelligence team at Microsoft Research laboratories. Clearflow predicts how "complex traffic interactions ... occur as traffic backs up on freeways and spills over onto city streets" in 72 different urban areas.

This is one more way Microsoft is trying to catch up with Google's array of online services, which do include maps with projected traffic delays, but Google's and other Web sites' traffic information is mainly limited to highways and major interchanges.

Mobile device users will be able to look up current traffic information but its still unclear if the service will soon be integrated into live traffic routing on GPS devices.

Garmin, for example, already allows its device users to connect with traffic information service provided by MSN Direct. Garmin users with a compatible antenna receive MSN Direct information which allows drivers to "find the best route through traffic, check traffic flow and receive accident warnings." It also provides information on local gas prices, movie times and weather forecasts.

Clearflow is supposed to be launched today but cursory looks at traffic route information for New York City and Chicago didn't seem to show side street information or alternative routes.

From The New York Times.


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Engadget

Trapster: Get Warnings About Speed Traps on Your Cell Phone

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Apr 3rd 2008 at 11:15AM

Trapster: Get Warnings About Speed Traps and Red Light Cameras on Your Mobile Phone
Law breakers continue to take advantage of the social features of the Web 2.0 revolution. The latest tool in their arsenal is a mobile application called 'Trapster.' Trapster is not a reference to drug dealing or the slightly sad Marvell Comics Villain.

Trapster is about speed traps. Trapster lets drivers report the location of speed traps, red light cameras, and other locations where you're likely to get a ticket.

The service can use Wi-Fi or GPS to find your location and sends you audio alerts when you're approaching a ticket threat. Users report the locations of traps and are rated on their reliability. The system gives greater weight to those that are rated more reliably. Users can also customize the alerts they want, so that they only receive notice of red light cameras or the like. Information about red light cameras stays in Trapster's database indefinitely, but speed trap data is only kept for an hour, with the expectation that the officers will move on to a new location.

Trapster will work with many different mobile platforms, including Nokia's Symbian based handsets, Windows Mobile, and Blackberries. The service is available now, though the site was down when we tried to visit it.

From Comcast News

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Engadget

DASH Express Gets Live Traffic Updates From Other Drivers

by Will Safer, posted Mar 28th 2008 at 2:11PM

DASH Express

The long-awaited DASH car navigation devices will soon hit store shelves and the promise of shared, live traffic data will soon be in consumers hands -- or rather their cars, guiding them around traffic tie ups and obstacles that other DASH-using drivers have already encountered and relayed back through the live data system.

DASH Navigation's two-way navigation devices relay information via GPRS to and from a central computer that collects speed and location data from each user's car, then computes a live, up-to-the-minute picture of what the traffic situation is in a certain area. (GPRS is typically utilized by mobile phones to send and receive SMS messages and data for WAP browsers, a mobile phone version of an Internet browser.)

DASH goes well beyond the current traffic guidance systems already used by in-car GPS makers, which compute historical traffic data (such as average speeds and rush hour changes). Some GPS devices also receive an RDS-TMC (Radio Data System Traffic Message Channel), which in many metro areas collates live traffic conditions through the ClearChannel system. Typically an RDS-TMC receiver adds about $100 to the price of a GPS device. Also, the information over RDS-TMC requires lots of human input and interpretation. DASH's system is more automated.

The DASH Express device doesn't just receive traffic information, but also acts as a transmitter, sending out constant information about its own situation on the road. This means the more DASH Express units that are deployed in a certain region the better the traffic information will be. According to our friends over at Engadget, who have put the new DASH Express through its paces already, the device and the traffic monitoring system work exceptionally well.

Traffic conditions along the routes they were traveling were reflected in the actual driving experience. While many traffic information services are good at helping navigate main highways and thoroughfares, the DASH system also lends itself to making your way through local streets. As long as a few cars with the DASH Express are on the road in your area, you should get up-to-date information. Plus, the information you and fellow DASH-using drivers gather is saved and integrated into the historical traffic data. So, in a sense, this is a system that is constantly getting smarter.

The company says consumers should not be worried about being monitored on the road or tracked by authorities. All data gathered will be anonymized and aggregated, so "Big Brother" can't snag you if you happen to be speeding or driving erratically.

The DASH Express also comes with a live Internet connection to Yahoo! Local search. Plus, you can send address information from Microsoft Outlook or a Web browser straight to your device -- or even have someone else do it for you if you're already on the road. Also, when new maps come out, the device is automatically updated via the GPRS signal.

What's the downside? According to Engadget, it's the initial price of $399 plus the monthly $13 fee required to receive the traffic data and local information. Even with a two-year service commitment, which drops the monthly fee down to $10, it adds up to a $640 initial outlay.

DASH's traffic solution has been the talk of many tech types for more than a year now while the company has been conducting tests near its Sunnyvale, Calif., home base. Now that its really on the market it will be interesting to see how many people decide to spring for this capable new device.

The DASH Express is shipping this week.

From Engadget.



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Engadget

Heat-Sensing Cams Police Commuter Lanes

by Tim Stevens, posted Oct 4th 2007 at 12:17PM

Heat-Sensing Cameras Police D.C. Commuter LanesIf you've ever considered installing an inflatable dummy in your passenger seat so that you can use those temptingly fast-moving commuter lanes on the highway, you might want to think again -- at least if you live near Washington D.C. There local officials are installing infrared cameras to identify cars with too few passengers on board. The cameras will take body heat readings of a car's interior to determine how many occupants are inside. Too few people and a ticket will be automatically generated.

So, if you are going to use that inflatable dummy, at least make sure you fill it with warm water before hitting the highway. Just don't blame us if it springs a leak and gets your fancy new dash unit all wet.

Just for fun:

From Slashdot

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Engadget

Get Live Airport Updates, Now from Fellow Travelers

by Tom Conlon, posted Sep 7th 2007 at 9:28AM


The next time you fly, avoid having a Michael-Douglas-'Falling Down' kind of day with the newly launched Orbitz TLC Traveler Update, an online service that mixes elements of a standard travel update site with peer-to-peer and social networking technologies.

Along with the info on delays, cancellations and weather provided by the TSA, which you can get from any one of a hundred different travel sites, Orbitz TLC Traveler Update incorporates info from fellow travelers who are actually at the airport. So, when the TSA says there's a 20-minute delay at security, a person who's actually in line might post an update saying it's more like a 45-minute delay. This extends to weather, traffic, parking, Wi-Fi availability and almost anything else airport related you can think of. You're also likely to get notifications of flight delays and cancellations before any official announcements are made. Of course, all of this information is accessible and updatable on a computer or cell phone.

The above video won't tell you what took so long for someone to finally invent this service, but it will give you a nice walkthrough of how it works.

From Tech Crunch

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Engadget

Mobile Phones Combat Traffic Congestion

by Evan Shamoon, posted Jul 3rd 2007 at 9:38AM

Mobile Phones Combat Traffic Congestion

As you sit in your car amongst thousands of others, sweating even as the AC chugs, the question lingers: how can you remove traffic from your life? Researchers from MIT may have the answer: starting in Rome, they're using data from mobile phone networks to create real time maps of people moving around the city, giving commuters a more detailed, wide-ranging view of traffic conditions -- everywhere, not just on major roads and highways.

Essentially, with all of the GPS devices in taxis, buses, and mobile phones spread about the city, the researchers are attempting to create algorithms that can give drivers a comprehensive look at any part of the city, directing them away from traffic and accounting for the ebb and flow of congestion in real time.

The effect on public transportation could be huge as well; Rome currently runs a service to let people know when buses will arrive via their mobiles; one possible next step is to send buses to where the people are, rather than sticking to fixed schedules. All of which adds up to less congestion, and less exhaust coming out of those tailpipes.

From BBC

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