Nokia studies traffic with GPS-enabled mobiles

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Nokia is putting mobile technology to good use in a study that uses real-time traffic data to reduce road congestion and delays.

Dubbed Mobile Millennium, the project will involve data collection from GPS-enabled handsets with the data then used to help drivers make more informed decisions about routes and time of travel.

Anyone who has a compatible handset can take part in the research effort although it looks like just the US will benefit for now.

The work is a collaborative effort involving Nokia Research Centre, UC Berkley’s California Centre for Innovative Transport (CCIT), the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and digital map maker Navteq, which is owned by Nokia is using its traffic aggregation technology as the system’s backbone.

"The global proliferation of GPS-enabled mobile devices has driven tremendous growth in location-based experiences" said Henry Tirri, vice president and head of the Nokia Research Centre.

"Mobile Millennium, with its unique collaboration of private and public stakeholders, is designed to demonstrate that everyone can help address problems such as traffic congestion. Nokia is proud to be part of this research."

Nokia reckons its system solves the installation and maintenance problems – and therefore limited coverage - created by traditional traffic monitoring tools.

"Berkeley is contributing our expertise in traffic modeling and systems engineering to help make this complex system come to life," said Alexandre Bayen, professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Berkeley. "As part of a public university, we are thrilled to be working on a project with such enormous potential for public benefit.”

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