Filed under: Transportation, Wireless

If you’re not satisfied with the driving directions you get on Google Maps, a few smart guys at MIT have created an elaborate new toy called CarTel just for you. They’ve equipped a fleet of Boston-area cars with computers that automatically connect to any 802.11 access points detected in transit, then send home data recorded by their on board diagnostic systems, all in just a few hundred milliseconds. The result: a website that gives you directions based on information gathered in real-time so you can avoid high-traffic areas or say, if it’s raining, roads which have historically been congested in adverse weather conditions — no GPS required. The project also keeps a record of all access points detected, so think of it as wardriving for the good of humanity — and you (probably) wouldn’t even get arrested for participating!

[Via PhysOrg]

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Filed under: Transportation, Wireless

If you’re not satisfied with the driving directions you get on Google Maps, a few smart guys at MIT have created an elaborate new toy called CarTel just for you. They’ve equipped a fleet of Boston-area cars with computers that automatically connect to any 802.11 access points detected in transit, then send home data recorded by their on board diagnostic systems, all in just a few hundred milliseconds. The result: a website that gives you directions based on information gathered in real-time so you can avoid high-traffic areas or say, if it’s raining, roads which have historically been congested in adverse weather conditions — no GPS required. The project also keeps a record of all access points detected, so think of it as wardriving for the good of humanity — and you (probably) wouldn’t even get arrested for participating!

[Via PhysOrg]

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Filed under: GPS

In a move that we can only hope signals a trend, GPS maker Navigon has announced that real-time traffic updates will now be free for all users of its wares. For awhile now, the outfit has offered gratis traffic updates on its higher-end models, but now, it’s taking the Free Real-Time Traffic Updates for Life program to each navigation system it produces. There’s no extra hardware to buy, no hidden fees — just good, clean, free traffic updates. What’s not to love?

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Filed under: Transportation

Japan’s not hurting for trains, but what’s the addition of another going to hurt? Senyo Kogyo and Senyo Kiko have jointly announced plans to construct a test line for an energy-saving urban transportation system this October. Dubbed Eco Ride, the “roller coaster-like” system in the Chiba Prefecture will operate “using the height difference on the railway,” and furthermore, there will be drive units (complete with clanks and clangs, we bet) “installed at various points on the railway so that the Eco Ride can obtain the potential energy to run.” Reportedly, Eco Ride would likely remain just a short-distance transportation system even if expanded, but no matter how you slice it, it sure beats taking the Segway to work.

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Filed under: Transportation

Though we’re hesitant to believe something this fantastic could actually be implemented in real life, word on the pavement has it that Audi is currently running a pilot program that informs motorists “how fast to drive to catch a green light.” Over in Ingolstadt, Germany, 50 traffic lights have been equipped with sensors that beam information to specially equipped whips; the network of “smart” signals not only “adapts to traffic patterns to deliver optimum light switching,” but gives drivers a heads-up in order to get ‘em through lights and cut down on idling / pollution / road rage. We can just hear those red light camera appeals now: “But judge, my car told me to do it!”

[Image courtesy of NOLA]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation

We have all ideas (okay, so we know it for a fact) that the Los Angeles Traffic Cam was designed for those living in LA, but we can’t help but imagine how drivers in less congested cities could use this to make their own daily commute not seem so bad. NBC4 and 3rd Dimension have teamed up to beam out live video and nearly live still shots from some 270 LA-area traffic cameras to those with compatible mobiles, and being that it’s ad-supported, the whole thing is completely free to end users. Of course, for all you know, they could just loop a clip of gridlocked traffic during rush hour and call it reality. Sadly, said idea would almost work.

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Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Transportation

Sure, we’ve seen cellphones intermingle with traffic data before, but Nokia’s looking to up the ante in a big way by utilizing a large network of GPS-enabled handsets to actually predict traffic patterns and help you avoid congestion before you even leave for that afternoon appointment. In a recent trial involving 100 volunteer drivers (and an equal amount of N95s), the handset maker teamed up with UC Berkeley to test the effectiveness of using a device most people already own (read: cellphones) to beam out traffic data rather than installing permanent sensors in roadways. Eventually, Nokia hopes to expand the experiment to over 1,000 folks, and just in case you privacy junkies can already feel your heart racing, you can rest assured that all “personal identifying information” was stripped before being sent back for analysis.

Read - Nokia turns people into traffic sensors
Read - Video: Nokia test drives traffic monitoring system

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Filed under: GPS

Aimed for Europe’s roads (for now), Blaupunkt has announced the TravelPilot Lucca 3.5, a circular GPS unit that will probably invoke some love it / hate it style comments. Either it’s a stylish looking unit, or its a waste of space (consider the square screen.) Either way, this thing features a 3.5-inch LCD, a Centrality Atlas III Dual Core 400MHz processor, detailed mapping of the UK and Ireland, major European roads, and detailed European mapping available at extra cost. It also has a SD/SDHC/MMC slot, and locations of speed traps to save you a ticket. If you don’t fancy the circular 3.5, you can go for the new Lucca 5.3, which features a 4.3-inch rectangular screen and case, Bluetooth support, voice control, and external video input for rear view cameras. You’ll undoubtedly see these models in Europe first, but for how much and when, we don’t know.

Read - Lucca 3.5
Read - Lucca 5.3

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: GPS

Aw JVC, we knew you couldn’t keep your feet out of the overcrowded GPS biz for too long, and while you certainly tried to assure us that you were callin’ it quits earlier this year, we suppose the two new navigators you’ve got on the horizon act as proof to the contrary. Apparently, the outfit will soon be launching the KV-PX701 and KV-PX501, which are both slated to utilize NAVTEQ maps and a 400MHz Samsung processor. The former boasts a 4.3-inch touchscreen, a SiRFstarIII chipset and integrated RDS-TMC capability, while the latter packs a 3.5-inch touch panel, a Media Tec GPS receiver and has its RDS-TMC module built into the car mount. The duo is expected to ship later this month for €399 ($565) and €349 ($495), respectively, but we’ve no idea if either will be headed to America.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!