Hotmail
Companies track gridlock via cell phones
Data from wireless providers mark how fast handsets are moving on roads
 | Ron Herman, chief executive of IntelliOne, points to a section on his computer screen in his suburban Atlanta office of an Atlanta street where traffic is moving at a very slow pace from Herman uses cell phones to track the speed and movement of traffic in various areas. Those using his service would know what areas to avoid because of heavy traffic or use different routes. |
Gene Blythe / AP |
Tech Holiday Gift Guide |
 Give the gift of gaming accessories These gadgets help gamers play longer, better, more efficiently and more comfortably. Here are a few game-enhancing peripherals that the gamer on your list is sure to enjoy. |
 | Tech and gadgets videos |
 Police patrolling Facebook Nov. 13: The Medina, Ohio, police department is posting pictures of wanted criminals on Facebook in an effort to get the public's help in tracking them down. WKYC's Mike O'Mara reports. |
 | Video |
 |
Auto Tech |
A better economy may lure buyers, but these trends could seal the deal. |
Related stories |
ATLANTA - Tracking traffic can be an expensive business. In some places, costly cameras and radar systems are mounted high above highways to watch traffic at strategic points. Transportation agencies also dig up roads to install sensors that monitor the flow. And helicopters roam the skies of the busiest cities, relaying information on the choked roadways to media outlets.
Atlanta's horrendous traffic has inspired two companies that are looking to monitor many more roads and highways than is done today and at a much lower cost. Their approach: Track the signals of cell phones that happen to be inside cars.
By using anonymous data from wireless providers to mark how fast cell-phone handsets are moving — and overlaying that information with location data and maps — IntelliOne and AirSage hope to offer more detailed information and pragmatic advice than other firms that monitor traffic through radar, helicopters or cameras. But some critics aren't so sure the benefits outweigh the potential privacy risks.
Both systems rely on wireless companies allowing them to process the data from their towers that calculate the position of each phone about twice a second when it's being used and once every 30 seconds when it's not.
IntelliOne, in business since 1999, uses technology that can track vehicles to within 330 feet without using Global Positioning System satellites. Its software is designed to weed out the difference between pedestrians and drivers, then crunch it into detailed color-coded maps that show average speeds along roadways. Light-traffic stretches are in green, slowdowns in yellow and logjams in red.
It rolled out a pilot program in Tampa, and plans to dive into its first market in March, in Ontario, Canada. Forty more markets, including Atlanta, could be covered by November 2007.
The service would be marketed free to wireless providers, who would share profits with IntelliOne. Media outlets could buy access to broad snapshots of a city's traffic situation.
Individual customers would be able to buy a single use or pay a monthly fee for personalized information and a service that sends alternate routes when traffic takes a turn for the worse. No prices have been set yet.
AirSage has a similar strategy and has partnered with Sprint Nextel Corp. to offer government customers real-time traffic data. The company already has four contracts with state transit departments and recently announced a plan with the Georgia Department of Transportation to extend traffic coverage between Atlanta and Macon.
Cy Smith, AirSage's president and CEO, said more than $1 billion is spent each year by government agencies to track traffic, but the expense doesn't even cover 1 percent of the nation's roads. He said his company can increase coverage tenfold at the same expense.
- Discuss Story On Newsvine
-
Rate Story:
View popularLowHigh - Instant Message
MORE FROM TECH AND GADGETS |
 Tech and gadgets Section Front |
| Add Tech and gadgets headlines to your news reader: |
Resource guide