People usually associate cell phones and cars with bad things like distracted drivers and accidents, but a new software program from researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and handset
maker Nokia aims to make the cell phone an essential touch point in the morning drive to work. The free software, which can be downloaded to Global Positioning System-enabled phones running on GSM
networks like AT&T and T-Mobile, transforms the phone into a device capable of monitoring and measuring traffic volume in real-time.
The researchers claim the new program could actually
improve traffic congestion, by helping drivers make better decisions. Here's how it works: as drivers pass certain locations marked with GPS coordinates, the phones will send speed and location
information to computers, which will compute the data, determine speeds and travel times, and then send the aggregated information back to drivers' phones. Privacy safeguards keep the data from being
linked to a particular phone.
"Eventually, anyone in the country will be able to download the free software to transmit and receive traffic data and participate in the creation of a new
traffic information system for their city or community," said Alexandre Bayen, a UC Berkeley professor of systems engineering, in a statement."
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