IBM shows off Smarter Traveler traffic prediction tool

First-of-a-Kind Collaboration to research Real-Time Traffic Patterns and Individual Commuter Travel History to Forecast Faster and Safer Routes
SAN JOSE, Calif. – 13 April, 2011: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a brand new collaboration with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and California Center for Innovative Transportation (CCIT), a research institute on the University of California, Berkeley, to assist commuters avoid congestion before their trip begins and enable transportation agencies to raised understand, predict and manage traffic flow.

In a technology advance so that you can ultimately help drivers world wide avoid rush hour traffic jams, IBM Research has developed a brand new predictive modeling tool with a view to let drivers quickly access personalized travel recommendations to aid them avoid congestion, and save time and fuel.

By joining forces, IBM, Caltrans and the Mobile Millennium team throughout the CCIT hope to supply drivers with valuable predictive information on what traffic patterns tend to appear like – even before they leave work or home and get of their vehicles – instead of discover what has already happened and is being reported.

Using this predictive and analytic traffic tool, transportation agencies and town planners one day might be capable of proactively design, manage and optimize transportation systems to handle ever-increasing traffic because of population growth and extending urbanization.

“Because the variety of cars and drivers inside the Bay Area keep growing, so too has road traffic. However, it’s unrealistic to think we are able to solve this congestion problem by using adding more lanes to roadways, so we have to proactively address these problems before they pile up,” said Greg Larson, Chief of the Office of Traffic Operations Research, Caltrans. “Such as partners like CCIT and IBM we’re driving a brand new age of science-based, data-centric traffic management that might give commuters the advantage of knowing the fastest, most cost-effective and eco-friendly path to their destination.”

Traffic delays as a result of highway incidents reminiscent of work zones, crashes or just by morning and evening rush hours routinely stymie frustrated drivers. Inspite of advances in GPS navigation, real-time traffic alerts and mapping, daily commute times are frequently unreliable, and relevant updates on tips on how to avoid congestion often reach commuters after they are already stuck in traffic and it’s too late to alter course. This inability to prevent traffic jam has resulted in commuters around the United states of america wasting on average almost per week’s worth of time, 28 gallons of gas and $808 over the process a year Source: http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/report/congestion_cost.pdf .

In Silicon Valley, the difficulty is mainly acute. Compared to cities of an identical size in population, drivers within the city of San Jose waste a cumulative of 10 million more annual hours sitting in traffic jams and suffer a fifteen% higher commute delay per peak-time traveler. Source: http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/congestion_data/

Spanning the San Francisco Bay Area Region, the recent Smarter Traveler research initiative collects and analyzes traffic data generated from existing sensors in roads, toll booths, bridges and intersections. This unique project combines that data with locations in accordance with GPS sensors in participant’s mobile phones to profit their preferred travel days and routes. Alerts are then automatically delivered via email or text message at the status of the motive force’s typical commute before the trip begins, which eliminates potential distraction once a driver is at the road.

These alerts will enable drivers to plot and share alternative travel routes, improve traveler safety and help transportation authorities better predict and decrease bumper-to-bumper traffic before it occurs through improved traffic signal timing, ramp metering and route planning.

The researchers will leverage a primary-of-its-kind learning and predictive analytics tool called the IBM Traffic Prediction Tool (TPT), developed by IBM Research, which continuously analyzes congestion data, commuter locations and expected travel start times throughout a metropolitan region that could affect commuters on highways, rail-lines and concrete roads. Through this Smarter Traveler research initiative, scientists could eventually recommend better the right way to get to a destination, including directions to a close-by mass transit station, whether a train is anticipated to be on time and whether parking is also available on the station.

“Unlike existing traffic alert solutions, we’re helping take the guesswork out of commuting,” said Stefan Nusser, Functional Manager, Almaden Services Research, IBM. “By actively capturing and analyzing the big amount of knowledge already being collected, we’re blending the automatic learning of travel routes with state-of-the-art traffic prediction of these routes to offer travelers timely information that could help them make decisions concerning the best thanks to get to their destination.”

About Caltrans
The State of California, Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is liable for the design, construction, maintenance, and operation of the California State Highway System, in addition to that part of the Interstate Highway System throughout the state’s boundaries. Alone and in partnership with Amtrak, Caltrans can also be thinking about the support of intercity passenger rail service in California, and is a frontrunner in promoting the usage of alternative modes of transportation. The present framework of Caltrans was set down by Assembly Bill 69 in 1972.

About CCIT
The California Center for Innovative Transportation is an affiliate of the UC Berkeley Institute of Transportation Studies. CCIT’s mission is to accelerate the implementation of analysis results and the deployment of technical solutions to enable a safer, cleaner, and more efficient surface transportation system. CCIT fulfill its mission with a strong set of services addressing technical challenges, systems integration, institutional issues, business models, and alter management

About IBM Smarter Transportation
IBM is operating with cities, governments and others all over the world to make their transportation systems smarter. Smarter traffic systems might help traffic and public transit systems flow more smoothly, anticipate congestion and improve it ahead, reduce emissions and increase the capacity of infrastructure. For instance, IBM developed a wise traffic system for Stockholm that led to drop in traffic, increased green vehicle and public transportation use, and a stronger overall quality of life for the town’s residents. Today, key lessons learned in that project are helping IBM to bring its smarter systems technique to aid cities including Brisbane, Singapore and London in improving transportation issues. The Management of Transportation Flow is certainly one of 100 “Icons of Progress,” significant company milestones from the last century which are being recognized during IBM’s Centennial celebration.

For additional information on IBM, please visit http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/traffic.

For more info about IBM, please visit www.ibm.com/smarterplanet and http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/traffic.