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Technology Hardware

Hardware-Based Commute-Map Gadget 261

Posted by timothy from the just-the-tip-of-the-underbelly dept.
coreymetrics writes "Anyone have one of these things? While it's no substitute for an improved mass-transit solution in the Puget Sound area, TrafficGauge's new gadget sure looks like it beats any PDA or cell phone auto traffic map I've used. It uses the same data that powers the Washington State DOT's indispensable website. Now why can't auto makers put this kind of thing in a dash instead of mostly worthless GPS navigation and DVD units?"
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Hardware-Based Commute-Map Gadget More

Hardware-Based Commute-Map Gadget

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  • "Worthless Navigation Systems" (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Scoria ( 264473 ) * <.slashmail. .at. .initialized.org.> on Monday July 07, 2003 @11:22PM (#6388434) Homepage
    Now why can't auto makers put this kind of thing in a dash instead of mostly worthless GPS navigation and DVD units?

    Several Mercedes-Benz GPS navigation systems [whnet.com] actually do support the reception of traffic information embedded inside of radio signals.

    • Re:"Worthless Navigation Systems" (Score:5, Insightful)

      by SuperBanana ( 662181 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @11:50PM (#6388565)

      Several Mercedes-Benz GPS navigation systems actually do support the reception of traffic information embedded inside of radio signals.

      Supposedly the Audi navigation systems were going to support this as well...as early as 1999 or 2000 in the US, but to my knowledge they're still not doing it; I have no idea about the euro units. I think it was mostly an infrastructure problem- either lack or incompatibility.

      Honestly, I question the value of such information in the first place. Rarely are other routes unblocked, at least here in Boston. You're pretty much screwed no matter which way you go. If that wasn't enough, they randomly close/open exits due to the massive construction(the Big Dig), and in the last 6-12 months, lots of big changes have been going on as new tunnels and exchanges open(which is going to wreak havoc with people with old databases for their nav systems!)

      • I think it was mostly an infrastructure problem-
        either lack or incompatibility.

        Umm, what other possible reasons are there? Maybe there was "too much" infrastructure for it to work?
      • i live in the seattle area, and this seems very useful. it is often the case that for the two bridges over lake washington (520 and 90 on the screen on the linked page), when one of them is clogged, the other is (significantly) less clogged. it's usually more often the case that 90 is less clogged than 520 than the reverse, but anyway, this device seems very useful.
      • Supposedly the Audi navigation systems were going to support this as well...as early as 1999 or 2000 in the US, but to my knowledge they're still not doing it; I have no idea about the euro units.

        They are pretty much standard in the higher Audi models (A6 and A8) in Germany. I think they use extra information from radio programs, but I might be wrong. If there is a traffic jam somewhere, this is shown on the map the GPS unit displays, at least if it is on the highway. You can advise the unit to automatica
      • Honestly, I question the value of such information in the first place.

        I agree. My ideal navigation tool fits on my palm pilot, and has current public transportation tables. It should also tell me where I am, relative to the closest bus stop/transit center.

        In a city with enough pt, I could get by without my car entirely. As it is, I'm just too lazy to a.) find all the bus stops, and b.) memorize the route tables.

    • Re:"Worthless Navigation Systems" (Score:5, Interesting)

      by radish ( 98371 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @04:53AM (#6389404) Homepage
      This is really common in the UK - a company called TrafficMaster [trafficmaster.co.uk] gather data from their own network of sensors over most major roads in the country and make it available in a number of ways. You can get it off their website (with a sub), through a variety of standalone devices like the one in the article (except more flexible as they cover the entire network) or licensed to integrated in-car systems. My parents BMW has had TrafficMaster integrated into the GPS nav system for a good few years now - not only can it show you how to get somewhere it can find a quicker route if the traffic's bad.
      • And it wouldn't matter very much if the traffic's bad.

        Of course this doesn't help in the US where motorcyclists are not allowed to filter[1] through traffic, which partially explains the very low numbers of motorcycles on the roads in the US.

        [1] lane-split for our American readers.
        • Allowed or not, motorcyclists always seem to be doing it, at least here in the Bay Area. Mostly just in heavy traffic and at stoplights. It always pisses me off, but that is probably just due to jealousy.
    • I had that feature in my Autopc in 1999. there was a paging/data module you installed that would give you traffic data in text form or in speech based on your gps location.

      the autopc had great ideas, but was crippled with running wince and horrible marketing and ZERO help or collabration by the other companies.. same as the Clarion Joyride today... it's a neat idea that will continue to be worthless because all the data companies and hardware companies would rather flip each other the bird than get togeth
    • why can't auto makers put this kind of thing in a dash

      The more autos it's installed in, the less effective it becomes. Giving people access to identical information about conditions can even increase traffic congestion, a phenomena we also observed in a computer model of decentralized agents learning to solve a simple coordination game. The paper has references to the transportation literature, where this result has been known for some time.

      Here's a link to .pdf of the paper Coordination Failure as a So [wisc.edu]

    • In Germany, there are traffic channels which help people avoid nasty crashes when fog and Autobahn speeds overlap.

      Would help us ignant Americans to have a passenger who actually understands German AND can pay attention to the radio when driving the Passau - Munich route at 200 Kph.

      Not like I've ever done that mind you.

      Not in this century anyway.

  • Mostly worthless GPS? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 07, 2003 @11:23PM (#6388441)
    Apparently you're not using it for the right things, like precisely aiming missiles at your neighbor's houses.

  • *sigh* Google link (Score:5, Informative)

    by 1010011010 ( 53039 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @11:25PM (#6388448) Homepage
    That was fast... IIS is complaining of too many users.

    Cache [216.239.37.104]

  • page down... (Score:3, Informative)

    by jethro200 ( 573288 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @11:27PM (#6388454)
    may have to go with Google's cached version [216.239.51.104] of the page.
  • There are only 4 comments posted and already the site is slashed.

    Slashdot should make a pay service that gives out links a few hours ahead of the main pack. What's an "infojunkie" to do these days?

    • Re:Running this site on XP Pro or what? (Score:5, Funny)

      by terradyn ( 242947 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @11:32PM (#6388488)
      Slashdot should make a pay service that gives out links a few hours ahead of the main pack.

      Yeah, and they should make it only for subscribers.

    • Re:Running this site on XP Pro or what? (Score:5, Funny)

      by Jad LaFields ( 607990 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @11:33PM (#6388495)
      What are you doing trying to read the article, anyway.

      You're just supposed to reload the front page over and over again trying to get the "frost piss" post, which I have been told means "first post". Or maybe "Eskimo Latrine". Hmmmm...
    • No, Slashdot shouldn't do that (besides, they already do...its called "subscription").

      As I have said before, what they should do is temporarily host the site, so that the "real" server does not get slashdotted, and the owner of the real site does not get either cut off or get a massive bandwidth bill. The current system is every bit as effective at shutting down a server as is a DoS attack. If I had something neat up on a website, the LAST thing I would want now is for it to get noticed by the Slashdot c

  • "Mostly Worthless" (Score:5, Insightful)

    by DerProfi ( 318055 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @11:28PM (#6388462)
    Well, um, I suppose the reason most automakers (and consumers) prefer GPS is because it doesn't matter where the traffic is bad if you can't figure out how to get to your destination in the first place.

    • Navigation Koans (Score:5, Funny)

      by xixax ( 44677 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @01:27AM (#6388940)
      One day Scott got into his car and drove to work and arrived at the Interstate. Only then did he realise that you cannot travel without changing yourself and the universe.

      A trouble Cathy sat in the gridlock and implored her in-car navigation, "Why am I stuck?". The GPS replied, "You are here", and she was enlightened.

      Destination is illusion if you do not know from where you start and where change in your journey.

      A single GPS point coordinate is as protected as the robin that nests in an inpenetrable briar patch.

      Even the road travels the bridges.

  • You mean... (Score:3, Funny)

    by TampaTim ( 201824 ) * <mail AT m47 DOT org> on Monday July 07, 2003 @11:31PM (#6388480)
    an overloaded IIS web-server? No don't have one of those!

  • I wonder how long will it be before... (Score:5, Funny)

    by DerProfi ( 318055 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @11:32PM (#6388482)
    we see the first traffic fatality caused by some asshat paying too much attention to their TrafficGauge(tm) and not enough to TheRealTrafficRightInFrontOfYou(tm).

  • CF Card? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by lpret ( 570480 ) <[lpret42] [at] [hotmail.com]> on Monday July 07, 2003 @11:32PM (#6388490) Homepage Journal
    How long do you think it will be before this is available as a CF card for your Pocket PC?

  • In-dash distraction (Score:5, Insightful)

    by gumpish ( 682245 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @11:33PM (#6388494) Journal
    Anytime you're moving and your eyes aren't on the road, you're putting yourself and everyone around you at much greater risk. When my regime rises to power, everyone will be required to ride a motorcycle for 1 year as their only motor vehicle before getting a license for a car. Weed out the bad drivers...
    • I love your moto rule. I say motorcyclists don't have to obey any laws as long as they don't wear a helmet. Also, anyone with one or more points on their license will have their airbag replaced with a giant spike. And, kids don't have to be restrained in child safety seats as long as they are securely attached to the bumper.
    • Most accidents are fender-benders in rush-hour traffic. If you can avoid being in the traffic to begin with, you can avoid those sorts of accidents. The beauty of this device is that it's designed to be able to be read at a glance. The display is always the same, the only thing that changes is the specific time-sensitive data. Since the roads are always in the same place on the map, you can glance at your route & decide whether to take an alternative route or not in a second.

      I agree with your basic pre
    • 'Strue. When I use my GPS, I wedge it next to my speedometer on the dash, and only glance down to it occasionally and momentarily. (Probably no more than I do the speedo at other times.) It's still a distraction, though.

      How long will it be before we see head-up displays for things like that? If implemented well, this would eliminate two problems: the looking down, and the refocusing (which, depending on your eyes, may be more of a limiting factor). The technology has been around for decades, and can'

    • I've always wondered by cars can't get HUDs like fighter planes have. I'd love to see my speed etc. projected onto the windshield so I don't have to take my eyes off the road.

    • Anytime you're moving and your eyes aren't on the road, you're putting yourself and everyone around you at much greater risk.

      That's why I support doing away with Spedometers in cars!
    • In my experience, motorcycle drivers are often some of the more dangerous folks on the road. Just because they have a smaller vehicle, they believe it gives them "carte blanche" to weave in and out of traffic, driving between two lanes - and assuming everyone can see them just fine the whole time.

      I'm not advocating people trying to read text-based messages while driving either. That's just idiocy, IMHO. Any GPS system for vehicles worth its salt should be voice operated and give voice feedback. Any gra

  • Article text (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 07, 2003 @11:42PM (#6388524)

    reprinted July 2003 for slashdot.org


    The page cannot be displayed

    There are too many people accessing the Web site at this time.

    Please try the following:

    • Click the Refresh button, or try again later.
    • Open the www.trafficgauge.com [trafficgauge.com] home page, and then look for links to the information you want.
    HTTP 403.9 - Access Forbidden: Too many users are connected
    Internet Information Services

    Technical Information (for support personnel)

    • Background:
      This error can occur if the Web server is busy and cannot process your request due to heavy traffic.

    • More information:
      Microsoft Support [microsoft.com]

    • Ironically TrafficGauge failed to predict congestion on its own web site.

      Secondly, why is that classified as a 403 error? The problem is with the server so the error code should be 5xx.

  • User suggestions? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Mints ( 146243 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @11:42PM (#6388527)
    California's Department of Transportation is working on a similar system and I am working on the backend to a web interface similar to WSDOT's.

    If there are any users of similar systems for planning travel routes/times on slashdot, what features did you find valuable, superfluous, or altogether lacking?

    Is it valuable to have historic data? If so, how far back? Archived hourly analysis of traffic volumes, average time of travel on predefined routes? As a user, would you be interested in data beyond delays and congestion. Site specific information giving visibility, weather, etc?

    Thank you for any responses!

  • Seems pretty limited (Score:3, Interesting)

    by TampaTim ( 201824 ) * <mail AT m47 DOT org> on Monday July 07, 2003 @11:44PM (#6388534)
    So it looks like it is a fixed display(non-matrix) that basically tells you which of 4 interstates is congested or not. Seems like it answers one question, should I avoid the interstates, or not. What if they are? How would you know the best alternate route?

  • alternate site for info (Score:5, Informative)

    by emcron ( 455054 ) * on Monday July 07, 2003 @11:44PM (#6388535)

    Since the product site is hosed check out this article [komotv.com] from KOMO News [komotv.com] in Seattle. Article even has a video [komotv.com] of the story they did on the device.

    Not quite a mirror, but better than nothing.

  • Instant answers mmmkay (Score:5, Funny)

    by GillBates0 ( 664202 ) on Monday July 07, 2003 @11:51PM (#6388571) Homepage Journal
    From their What it can do page:
    You'll find TrafficGauge indispensable if you've ever wondered...
    Will I hit traffic on this route? Should I go a different way?
    Do I need to leave now, or can I spare a few minutes?
    Can I make it to the meeting, day care, or movie on time?
    With TrafficGauge, you'll know the answers instantly--at a glance!

    So, like, you ask it these questions and it'll come back with:
    "You will definetly hit traffic on this and any alternate route that you may choose. You could either leave now, or a couple of minutes later...doesn't really matter, you won't be able to make it to the meeting, day care or movie on time anyway.
    And remember, roadrage is bad mmmkay. Happy driving

    • "You will definetly hit traffic on this and any alternate route that you may choose. You could either leave now, or a couple of minutes later...doesn't really matter, you won't be able to make it to the meeting, day care or movie on time anyway."

      Hey neighbor, you too must be from the Puget Sound area. Where the traffic report can usually be summarized as "Good" or "Bad" overall.

  • How to finance these (Score:3, Interesting)

    by serutan ( 259622 ) <snoopdoug AT geekazon DOT com> on Monday July 07, 2003 @11:59PM (#6388615) Homepage
    Notice that the device has a "Home Game" symbol that alerts you to major events. Good feature! In my 15 years of commuting around the Seattle area, the commercial activities of the Mariners, Sonics and Seahawks have collectively added hundreds of hours of commute time to my life and have never compensated me in any way. How about if sports teams in a metropolitan area provide these gadgets free of charge to anyone who wants one?
    • or i suppose they could provide a handy calendar of their scheduled games. hmmm, perhaps they already do.
      • You obviously missed the point. If they have to screw up major public resources to do their business, they ought to do more for innocent bystanders than simply notify them when it's going to happen.

        If you stood out on the freeway and caused a spectacle of some sort that snarled up traffic, you would get arrested for disturbing the peace. But a baseball team gets to do the same thing on a regular basis, no problem.

  • Seen in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Score:3, Interesting)

    by chendo ( 678767 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @12:00AM (#6388618)
    In one episode of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, a device very similar to the one linked was shown, except much more detailed. However, the major was able to hack into it and make it show an accident on a bridge, forcing the bad guy to take an alternate route, easily apprehending him.

    Could this be used in real life, I wonder?

  • Mostly Worthless? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by sublimusasterisk ( 539187 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @12:01AM (#6388621)

    ..."mostly worthless GPS navigation and DVD units..."


    Mostly worthless? Am I the only one whose hide has been saved by "worthless GPS navigation and DVD units"?

    OK, OK, maybe the software is klunky sometimes ("continue to merge left for 1.5 miles") and the CG voice is annoying, but when you're lost and/or late I wouldn't describe the GPS/Nav system as worthless by a long shot.

    • Oh yeah...

      I didn't spring for the auto-route models, just one with a basic map. But the Phoenix metro-area is on it and it has saved my hide, literally.

      Imagine, if you will, driving 2700 miles to a new land. Upon arriving, you take all of your belongings inside, and then proceed to return the UHaul. But you take a wrong turn, into the Twilight zone (it got dark). No landmarks, everything is flat, and I don't know squat about the area. Granted, having a city map probably would have been a GOOD IDEA. Bu
    • Am I the only one whose hide has been saved by "worthless GPS navigation and DVD units"?
      Well, I can't say as I've ever used an in-car GPS, but I'm interested in your method of saving your hide with the DVD unit. How does it work, exactly; do you just pop in The Matrix and consult the oracle?
    • ... Mostly worthless? Am I the only one whose hide has been saved by "worthless GPS navigation and DVD units"?

      Nope, you certainly aren't the only one. Billy Graham sent me a DVD in the mail, I popped it in my "worthless" DVD unit; and halleluja, I was SAVED! Praise the lord, I've been SAVED!!!! :)

    • I think the author doesn't have one of the in dash units. Mine auto-routes. It gives voice directions. It works even with the display turned off. I use the local talk radio for road reports. If I need to ditch the freeway, I just take any exit. The auto re-route works fully hands off. It re-does the route on the fly and contiues giving directions to an alternate route.

      The unit I have is the factory Nav-Tech unit in the Toyota Prius. My only problem is my wife keeps swiping my car if she needs to go s
    • My experience with a GPS unit was rather crappy.

      It told me to go the wrong way down one way streets. It instructed me to turn left onto a road that I was crossing UNDER. It told you to exit the highway after access to the exit ramp went away.

      I was not impressed.

  • From their 'About' page... (Score:5, Funny)

    by InterruptDescriptorT ( 531083 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @12:04AM (#6388637) Homepage
    Will I hit traffic on this route? Should I go a different way?

    If you're trying to access their IIS-run website, then I'd say that's a big 10-4, good buddy.

  • Not a convicing demo (Score:4, Interesting)

    by ibbieta ( 31756 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @12:06AM (#6388647)
    They claim that the Seattle area has unpredictable traffic and to prove it they have this series of examples [trafficgauge.com] all taken at 8:15am.

    Now, I don't live anywhere near Seattle but every day the traffic looks the same to me. A bunch of heavy traffic in the same places every day. This is supposed to convice me? All this product demostration did was convice me to not move to the suburbs of Seattle anytime soon and if I already had, to try some different routes.

    It also just displays four highways with just the promise of "compelling upgrades" in the future should new roads be added to the system. I'm sure the "compelling upgrades" will be much teh same as some software companies who charge for the upgrade and drop support for the old product. Compelling like a court order. :)

    --ibbieta

  • Other alternatives (Score:5, Informative)

    by goldfndr ( 97724 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @12:07AM (#6388655) Homepage Journal
    There are other methods [wa.gov] usable.

    Indeed, you could use WSDOT's own WebFlow [wa.gov] application, although it hasn't been updated in a long time. Sadly, they have a location already set up for new maps [wa.gov] that's going unused.

  • In other news... (Score:5, Funny)

    by indros13 ( 531405 ) * on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @12:08AM (#6388659) Homepage Journal
    ...TrafficGaugeWeb, used to measure internet traffic, imploded today at approximately 11:21pm Slashdot time, while taking its evening reading of the TrafficGauge homepage. Mary Merger, TrafficGauge spokeswoman, said that the site, usually receiving less than 100 hits daily, was struck by a vertiable avalanche of requests. "Fortunately no one was standing near the [TrafficGaugeWeb] at the time," Merger said, "the needle not only slammed to maximum, but the pressure blew the cover off the device, richocheted off my classic '52 Yield sign and nearly took the head off Jim ["Ramp" Meter, TrafficGauge field tester]. I guess word must be getting around about the new product...maybe there was a big car convention or something where they had free internet access." Authorities in the Seattle area could not be reached for comment.

  • Portable device? What about a traffic alarm... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by stigg ( 22667 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @12:20AM (#6388706)
    ...clock? I want an alarm clock that's programmed w/ the amount of lead time I need in the morning and where I'm going. It should check weather and traffic status real-time, and adjust my wake-up time on the fly so I get the maximum amount of sleep possible.

  • I have one and love it (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @12:28AM (#6388736)
    I have one of these units thanks to an inside deal. I regularly use it to decide my route to work, and it has definitely saved me from sitting in traffic on many occasions.
    One thing to keep in mind is that Seattle is well suited for this device because of geography - there are no alternate routes. There are only the two east-west routes shown on the unit across Lake Washington. The north-south options aren't much better. You can't just swing over a couple of blocks to avoid a problem, so knowing that one of major routes is bad because of a wreck can make a huge difference.
    Traffic reports on the radio can help, but they always come on 30 seconds after you pass the decision point for which route to take. This solves that problem by keeping the last report handy for you at any time.
    The unit isn't perfect -
    (1) has a fixed configuration so it wouldn't be able to accomodate any new routes, but that isn't really likely to happen around here anyways. More lanes maybe, but no new routes.
    (2) It relies on the DOT data, which is occasionally of questionable accuracy.
    On the plus side -
    (1) it runs on the pager network so coverage is not a problem, neither are limits on data transfer or message counts over a cell network.
    (2) the price is reasonable enough that is easy to recover the monthly fee in time and frustration saved.

    Overall - don't even think of trying to take mine away!
    • Okay, so once everyone has one of these devices, what happens then? Say it tells you the north road is the best choice; now everyone with one of these things heads to that road. Seems to me that, when these become commonplace, your best bet would be to do the OPPOSITE of what it tells you.

  • you can get that info already (Score:3, Informative)

    by 73939133 ( 676561 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @12:34AM (#6388764)
    Just tune into traffic info radio or pick up your cell phone and call one of the many free traffic info services. Or, have the information sent to your cell phone. But most people realize pretty quickly that that kind of knowledge is pretty useless: even if 101 or 405 are stop-and-go, taking alternate routes probably still takes longer than just living with it.

    The only thing you can do is to stay a little longer at the office until traffic has died down. And to see when that has happened, you don't need a wireless gadget, you just point your desktop web browser at a traffic site.
  • It wouldn't work if this was mounted in the dash, unless you were never selling your car to anyone outside the Puget Sound area.

    There are no maps beyond what you see in the display. The world on this device ends at Renton and at Lynwood.

    I can see this kind of thing customized and used by regional transit authorities in order to reduce the amount of roads that need to be built.

    This is a very vertical device at this point of time, but an excellent proof-of-concept. Convergence... we MUST have convergence

  • Hardware-Based Commute-Map Gadget (Score:4, Funny)

    by Ilan Volow ( 539597 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @12:51AM (#6388828) Homepage
    I can't wait till it has speech recognition. I'd love to say "Go Go Gadget Commute-map!" in heavy traffic.

  • Check out Magellan's Neverlost II GPS at Hertz (Score:4, Informative)

    by soren100 ( 63191 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @01:00AM (#6388859)
    I wouldn't say that GPS units are worthless -- I just drove a system equipped with one a couple of weeks back and it was basically a wet dream.

    The input system was kinda clumsy, maneuvering a cursor around an alphabet to choose letters and numbers, but besides that I was in love with it. My parents were visiting San Francisco, and I live 30 min away in Belmont, so I had to take them around town and I am not too familiar with the city yet -- this thing made it a breeze.

    Basically it is Mapquest in your car. You input a destination and it tells you how to get there in the quickest way possible, then shows you on the map wherever you are at any point in the trip.

    When a turn is coming up, a pleasant female voice lets you know and then tones tell you exactly when to turn. If you get too far off the route that it planned for you earlier, it will plan a new route for you.

    This thing could have saved me sooooo much time in my life and it was really helpful. When I didn't need the voice I just turned it down and could check the display every now and then to prove that I was on the right course.

    If I had 2 grand to drop on it I would buy one tomorrow. If you're at all interested in GPS units for cars you can check it out at Hertz for a few more dollars a day.

    A cheaper solution is to hook up a handheld unit to a laptop. I know somebody who did that and got great results, a lot cheaper than 2 gs.

    More info on the web: http://www.autonav2000.com/Products/750NavPlus.htm

    my 2 cents worth

  • Too limited (Score:2, Interesting)

    by ap0 ( 587424 )
    For those that live in the Seattle area, you'll notice that it just covers the Lake Union area, and just the freeways. This is great to check your freeway commute, but if you stray from the greater Seattle area or go on any side street or state route, it's useless. The WSDOT doesn't have the traffic monitoring systems set up anywhere else in the state. This isn't a navigation tool - it's a traffic monitor for the freeways. Useless, since you can get the same information every couple minutes on the radio

  • Had one for years (Score:2, Interesting)

    by threaded ( 89367 )
    I've had a system like this built in in my last 4 or 5 or is it 6 cars.

    http://www.trafficmaster.co.uk/

    Puts little road sign pictures up explaining what the delay is caused by, i.e. "Men at work" picture for roadworks, and how long the delay is expected. The Navigation unit takes this information and routes around the delay if necessary.

    I even posted a story like this the last time such a system was mention on /. {:-)

  • Mixed review, no sale (Score:3, Funny)

    by UnknowingFool ( 672806 ) on Tuesday July 08, 2003 @02:22AM (#6389087)
    On the one hand, it's a cool new gadget so men will buy it. On the other, it's like asking for directions so no man will buy it. It's kinda of a wash if you ask me.

  • 802.11b solution (Score:2, Interesting)

    by HaveBlue34 ( 142274 )
    how about an 802.11b solution mixed with gps? send your current speed and location to other drivers. with enough of them the data would propagate through the network and even to the internet with strategicaly located access points. make the data available over the internet so your nifty navigation system can plot the fastest route based on distance and traffic. have it keep a log and you could predict the fastest route through a particular location in advance.
    • I have been thinking of building something similar for a few months.
      GPS not only gives you your position, but also synchronized atomic time. Hence a dense-enough network of cars with these units could accurately "map" the city's road in realtime. Data in a large Ad-Hoc network could "jump lanes" to the cars that require it - ahead, behind, even to the opposing lanes of traffic (which are more likely to carry routing information regarding your intended destination).
      Besides trip routing information, a lot of
  • There's a great service for the Chicago area at:

    http://www.gcmtravel.org/ [gcmtravel.org]

    Very handy for a metro area with as many expressways as the Milwaukee-Chicago-Gary area.
  • Something simialr has been working in the UK for a while. Have a look at www.trafficmaster.co.uk [trafficmaster.co.uk]

    Rus
  • Since now there is so much on board distraction (phone cell, video, dvd, gps mapper, and now this gizmo), I propose to patent the following : put a camera at the front of the vehicule and then put the output on a monitor which will be put in tzhe middle of all gizmo, so that the driver can STILL pay attention to where he is going... Hummm.... Wait a minute...
  • Try living in L.A. it is a hell of alot worse down here. Hell we don't have freeways or highways we have 60 mile long parking lots.

  • which will naturally never get off my arse to implement, was to create a GSM/GPS hybrid unit. It would function entirely like a standard GPS unit, except it could report back it's location and speed to a central server. The server could then distribute this information to other users of the system.
    e.g. If the speed of 10 users on a motorway suddenly dropped you could assume that there was a traffic jam. The unit could then calculate whether the journey of other motorists, whose route was along this motorwa
  • This is news?!? Japanese "car-navi" systems have had traffic analysis features for at least the year I've been here. At first I couldn't understand why they were so popular, but then someone explained why, in this country where street addresses are rare, best route analysis is a real plus to drivers. As the site is slashdotted I can't tell if the company is trying to sell this as a new thing, but it would be a shame if so. Oh yeah right, and "the Japanese are only good at copying American ideas."

  • TMC (Score:2, Interesting)

    by colin1256 ( 232851 )
    In sevreal european countries including Germany, The Netherlands and I believe also Austria, newer GPS-Travelpilot systems (2yrs+) are compatible with a system called TMC.
    It is based on, regional radio stations broadcasting a stream of digital data along with their regular audio programme. You don't hear it (just like you don't lear the RDS station identifier code) and you don't need to subscribe to anything either.

    The travelpilot is interfaced with your car stereo and reads the TMC sigal out of the incomi
  • Is it worthwhile to have a single-purpose device like this? The Google-cached version of the product page indicates that it never needs to be turned off (so how fast does it go through batteries?) and that it is continually updated. I'm not sure that's enough to convince me it's a good idea. How much does it cost, for the device & for the subscription to the service? How often do you have to replace the batteries? What happens when it breaks -- would you even know until you're stuck in traffic when it c
  • "Now why can't auto makers put this kind of thing in a dash instead of mostly worthless GPS navigation and DVD units?"

    Because management gets confused when knobs from the west coast come over and tell us we need JAVA because a car is just a "browser on wheels" and other such crap. Then some other knob comes in with an OS that we'd have to pay for per unit... DVD players are essentially repackaged products, it's simple, but stupid.

  • Hey,

    Does anyone know if this stuff can already be done with amateur radio? Could I build a radio transmitter and receiver, put up a big antenna or use a repeater, to transmit this information to myself in the car?

    If not, why not?

    Rudy

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