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| Mar May |
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Intelligent Networks • Smart Objects • Design for Humans |
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| Monday, April 25, 2005 |
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Car Computers Track Traffic
A federally funded "smart highway" project headed by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Center for Infrastructure and Transportation Studies seeks to address gridlock by tracking traffic via a wireless network of cars equipped with global positioning system (GPS) devices. Motorists participating in a pilot project receive feedback from in-vehicle computers on a continuous basis. Each vehicle transmits drive-time data to a server once a minute; the server processes this information and extracts a picture of traffic around a radius of 40 miles, while speed is computed by monitoring progress between virtual checkpoints. Updates are relayed by the in-car computers, which give the driver directions and warnings via a synthesized voice. Rensselaer Center research director Al Wallace believes the system could be especially beneficial for mid- and small-sized cities bedeviled by rush-hour traffic, noting that its deployment would be less costly than setting up pole-mounted cameras or road sensors. The collection of data from road cameras, "black box" computer chips, and electronic toll tags has provoked fears of exploitation from privacy proponents. Rensselaer Center director George List says deactivating the GPS units are a simple way to avoid monitoring. Intelligent Transportation Society President Neil Schuster says transportation officials and private companies are investigating GPS and other technologies for upgrading traffic systems, while the auto industry is considering a wireless network for moving cars that could be hosted on federally dedicated spectrum.
[ACM TechNews]
10:38:29 PM
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