December 19, 2006

Traffic.com Upgrades with TrafficPro Service

Traffic.com announced that they are launching a new program to offer not only traffic reporting on sensor based roads, but they are also offering a comprehensive holistic solution that considers current traffic flow readings as well as historic data incorporation and local event considerations for a better approach to traffic understanding. Bottom line is that they are getting better at predicting traffic issues. They are also offering confidence factors, a way of offering you a read on how variable the travel times will be due to traffic. This all seems like a pretty good response to the Inrix lead on this approach. Inrix is all about two things in my mind; 1) incorporation of historical data to predict traffic across a particular route, and 2) using fleet vehicle data to gather traffic information on roads not covered by road sensors. It appears that Traffic.com has answered the competitive threat #1 above, but not #2.

Either way, this is good news for us. Traffic continues to be on the horizon for me as a killer capability for the GPS. I like it when things get better.

Full press release follows:

Traffic.com, Inc announced the availability of the TrafficPro™ TrafficML Service, the industry’s first comprehensive traffic solution that combines historical, and real-time data from a full complement of data sources to provide broad, accurate and quantified, current and forecasted drive time coverage. This breakthrough technology utilizes data obtained from GPS-based probe, the Traffic.com sensor network and government sensor data, and proprietary traffic incident and localized event data.

This new service generates drive times across the entire traffic-encoded road network of Traffic.com’s digital mapping partner, NAVTEQ, spanning over 90,000 road miles, calculating in unprecedented granularity, a unique ‘Confidence Factor’ for each drive time measurement.

TrafficPro TrafficML is an advanced XML data feed that leverages the Traffic.com Traffic Information Management System (TIMS) for data processing and multi-platform services dissemination. With this release, the TIMS processing capabilities incorporate a breakthrough Hierarchical Travel Time Model (HTTM) and Predictive Engine. HTTM uses proprietary algorithms to calculate travel times from the most diverse and accurate collection of historical, real-time and forecast traffic data sources including:
· GPS-based probe, anonymous cellular probe, and toll-tag data
· Proprietary and government sensor information
· Proprietary incident and event data collected by hundreds of locally-based Traffic.com nationwide operations personnel
· The Traffic.com Predictive Engine

The Traffic.com Predictive Engine applies statistical pattern-matching algorithms to current real-time conditions and historical travel models to estimate future speeds and drive times. Based upon the characteristics of each data sample used to calculate drive times, a ‘Confidence Factor’ is derived providing a percentage level of accuracy for each travel time value. With this sophisticated model, application developers will benefit from unparalleled control of end-user content in consideration of extended geographic coverage.

Coupled with Traffic.com’s proven reliable and scalable content delivery systems, TrafficPro TrafficML will enable a new range of advanced services in the navigation and location based services marketplace. By integrating with the NAVTEQ traffic-encoded road network, Traffic.com provides enhanced capabilities for optimal routing and route-arounds based on past, current and future roadway conditions. Applications can now deliver the most reliable traffic information to drivers with dynamic congestion-related changes to route directions while on the road.
“Our TrafficPro TrafficML solution responds to the increasing need for our customers to expand geographically with increasingly detailed roadway network coverage for their service offerings and fine tune their applications for accuracy and reliability,” said Christopher Rothey, chief operating officer, Traffic.com, Inc. “Not all traffic data is the same; the dynamic nature, extreme diversity and sheer volume of traffic information introduced by expanded coverage requires heightened, continuous diligence and expertise, and Traffic.com offers the only solution that serves as the ultimate in coverage with quality assurance.”

“Never before, have traffic providers delivered the ability to access a percentage of accuracy associated with drive time calculations,” said Brian Smyth, senior vice president of software development, Traffic.com, Inc. “With the Traffic.com Confidence Factors, Web, mobile, in-vehicle, and personal navigation application integrators will have the unique ability to control the level of detail, quality and coverage that allows them to finely-tune their end users’ experience.”

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Posted by Scott Martin at December 19, 2006 10:03 AM

Comments

It sounds as though they are using anonymous cell data and gps data in the mix along with predictive techniques, although I could be misreading it. Intellione has a service due out early next year based on anonymous cell phone data, http://www.trafficaid.net

"With this release, the TIMS processing capabilities incorporate a breakthrough Hierarchical Travel Time Model (HTTM) and Predictive Engine. HTTM uses proprietary algorithms to calculate travel times from the most diverse and accurate collection of historical, real-time and forecast traffic data sources including:
· GPS-based probe, anonymous cellular probe, and toll-tag data
· Proprietary and government sensor information
· Proprietary incident and event data collected by hundreds of locally-based Traffic.com nationwide operations personnel
· The Traffic.com Predictive Engine

Posted by: Jim D at December 19, 2006 7:11 PM

Jim,
You may be right. Traffic.com has been experimenting with anonymous mobile phone data, but there are some downsides according to my sources. Sorry, but I can't put my finger on the news item that talks about the experiemtn. Over the coming year, I would hope that it would come to the ready so that this too can be used to run traffic data. It would be a HUGE boost if you could get GPS aware mobile phones "transmitting" their progress as we would then be able to get a lot of secondary roads covered.

Posted by: Scott at December 19, 2006 7:37 PM

Check out the trafficaid.net website it seems thats what intellione is doing. The website says its product will route you around traffic as it happens based on anonymous cell location info. They ran a test market in the Tampa area this past year. The website alludes to secondary road traffic info nationwide, we'll see. It also claims March 07 availability.

BTW any idea where google maps mobile gets its info from ? Its obviously based on some type of location feedback hence the lack of info where there isn't enough data to go by. They don't use traffic.com even for the metro data.

Also when and where is TrafficPro TrafficML available? How do we get this? Is it going to be part of Navteq RDS/XM Traffic?

Posted by: Jim D at December 20, 2006 10:17 AM