Partner News: TNO hopes to better predict traffic flows

Date: 11 January 2008

ERTICO Partner consolidates existing technologies to better arrive at true real-time traffic information.

ERTICO – ITS Europe Partner TNO is exploring the potential of deriving traffic information from various technologies including cellular phone technology (Cellular Floating Car Data or CFCD).

Traffic jams are a fact of modern life, yet we still continue to use our cars to commute. If this trend continues unchecked, the morning rush hour could meet the afternoon peak head on. But it is not the actual jams themselves that cause the irritation - it’s not knowing if there’s going to be a jam or if there’s a faster alternative route. So wouldn’t it be nice to be able to predict how traffic will evolve in the next few hours and suggest a best time for departure and route to drive? While the use of cellular or GPS probes is contentious, Bjorn Heijligers suggests in Traffic Technology International that it does provide a great opportunity for the traffic industry to take a step closer to its Holy Grail of true real-time traffic information.

Most headlines concerning CFCD systems have been about possible privacy issues. This is understandable – privacy issues make good headlines. But is there any truth in them? As the entire GSM system depends on the capability to find a specific cell phone anywhere in the country (or in the world for that matter), using this information to generate traffic information adds nothing new or compromising to the system. On the contrary, traffic providers receive anonymous versions of the data, which makes it impossible for them to identify the original phone.

Ultimately, the road user will benefit if a carrier makes the data available, as road authorities will be able to create better traffic management systems and individual drivers will have better travel-time estimates available to them. Early results from TomTom, the Dutch mobile navigation systems company, show that 75% of users are willing to share their GPS position in return for better travel information.

The demand for area-based traffic information has been steadily growing, both for individual drivers and road authorities. This may make financially sound business models more feasible and the positioning technology allows the carriers to provide additional location-based services to their customers. People could potentially ‘opt in’ to receive customised information based on their location, route and traffic conditions.

TNO is currently looking to perfect a system that can predict how traffic congestion will evolve based on all the data available, including using weather radar to determine whether it is/will rain for every mile of the road, or whether a significant accident has closed half of the lanes. The system combines various sources of information such as traditional detection loops or CFCD/GPS floating car data. This will result in notable improvements for driver information and network management solutions. All the technologies have advantages and disadvantages, so intelligently combining all of the best available data inputs is the ideal solution, rather than point solutions using one technology. The Holy Grail could indeed be closer at hand.

For more information, please check the TNO website at www.tno.nl