How GPS Takes The Guesswork Out Of Beating Traffic
To view our videos, you need to:
1. Enable JavaScript. Learn how.
2. Install Adobe Flash. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
If you've ever wondered how your in-car GPS unit is able to get real time traffic updates, NY1's Technology reporter Adam Balkin shows how it's done.The average driver can save on average four days per year if they use the traffic feature of their Global Positioning System units to avoid following brake lights. That's according to a new study by Navteq, one of the companies that routes traffic information to GPS units.
Navteq recently invited NY1 up to its traffic center in Secaucus, N.J. which covers the New York City metro area, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, to see exactly how they get that information to GPS units.
First, Navteq turns to a variety of sources for the latest traffic information.
"We have our own video cameras, we have our own scanners, online web sources, [New York City Department of Transportation], New Jersey DOT, pretty much every major agency in this area has this information online in one form or another," says Anthony Gatti of Navteq. "A lot of them have their own cameras online, which is great because then instead of just five with the cameras online it's like 465. Call downs to the authorities, we try not to harass them but sometimes that's the best way to find out specific and timely information."
Once all the information is gathered, it's entered into the system by low-tech, human operators.
"We take the information that we have, once we find, say, a delay on the Cross Bronx Expressway, we go into the system, select the roadway, then select the points. Say, from Third Avenue to the Alexander Hamilton Bridge," says Gatti. "Then, we select the condition, whether it's slow, jammed, and then we just hit 'Submit.' It's updated to all of our end users simultaneously."
They estimate once a traffic incident is input into one of these computers, it takes about a minute or less to get to the GPS in users' cars.
Depending on the device, traffic services in one's GPS can cost anywhere from $100 for a lifetime-of-the-unit subscription to $100 each year. The company that provides the information is usually tied to the type of device.
Travelers can also go online several places, like Google Maps, and get traffic info via a web browser for free.