
Fighting Traffic Jams With Data - peter123
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122688123884231977.html?mod=rss_whats_news_technology
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ggruschow
Sounds like they're "fighting" traffic jams as much as most meteorologists
"fight" the weather. They're making a more automated, cheaper way to compete
with traffic reports on radio and TV. They even share the same way to monetize
it: ads on the "feed". I don't even know if they'll end up providing more
accurate, timely, or precise data than the current staff monitoring CCTV feeds
and watching from helicopters.

I kept wanting to hear that they were trying to attack traffic jams via some
means of automated coordination of the cars. It's a tough problem, especially
because many people think of their car as a means to personal freedom, and you
have to make it useful even without most cars participating.

Attacking traffic jams would be a big win for society and drivers though..
Reduce road rage, improve gas mileage, improve workforce productivity, lower
emissions, etc. It's so big, perhaps you could even monetize it by directly
rewarding drivers that do attack the problem.. either by directly paying them
$ or favoring their speed through jams when requested.

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mhb
My dad likes his Dash (<http://www.dash.net/>). It appears to have most of the
benefits of this research project and it's available as a real product.

