I just signed up for Zipcar. I love it. I can pick up and escape the city anytime. Open roads! Freedom!! Lost!!! Late!!!! Yeah… City girl needs GPS, and Zipcars have none. I often need Google Maps to navigate me around NYC’s grid of streets, you think I can find my way around the winding backroads of Pennsylvania?
Now I make sure that I bring my iPhone will me on all trips. If I hadn’t, I’d be driving donuts up in Canada somewhere right now. Not only can it give me directions (and reroute when I don’t follow them), it overlays traffic conditions so you can adjust your trip accordingly.
This is just the beginning of making mobile, well, mobile. Just as wireless technology helps us get in touch with people faster, it will also help us get to them faster. Sense Networks, which we wrote about earlier this year, is leveraging GPS data from taxi cabs and cell phones to detect road and foot traffic as well as predict tourism and retail patterns. Similarly, Inrix uses traffic data to predict traffic patterns, and Path Intelligence in the UK monitors traffic flow in shopping centers by tracking cellphones.
Handset manufacturers are realizing the opportunity here as well. Researchers from UC Berkeley and Nokia just released free software that can be downloaded to GPS-enabled phones that run on GSM networks such as AT&T and T-Mobile. According to the San Francisco Chronicle:
The software will transform the phones into devices that are used to monitor and measure traffic - and show real-time traffic data….because it uses cell phones, it could dramatically improve the accuracy of driving time projections, and allow driving time estimates on less-traveled roads, including surface streets and rural highways, the researchers say.
As the phones - and their drivers - pass locations marked with certain GPS coordinates, they will automatically relay anonymous speed and location information to computers, which will crunch the data, determine speeds and travel times, and send the information to motorists’ phones. The information will also be posted online.
Motorola has also been developing mesh network technology to help improve the driving experience. Their Motodrive architecture was first used by professional drivers to minimize their pit stops through better montitoring. Now, they are applying the same technology to help everyday drivers with their Motodrive m990 Smart Rider. The goal is ultimately to create a more intelligent roads by essentially letting cars talk to one another, saying “there is traffic ahead” or “I just had a blow-out, better move!”
Pretty soon, your GPS will take the wheel while you take a nap. Let’s hope this brings an end to road rage!
