A few weeks ago on Google Maps is a new feature especially interesting for those who live in cities or in congested areas: Traffic is the function that you can find items alongside the traditional "map", "satellite", "earth".
If you click lets you know in real time, the traffic situation at a specific location: the signs green, yellow, red and black I think speak for themselves. Describe the levels of traffic present at the time. As an example, I just selected an area of Rome where you can see some busy streets where it flows slowly (Via Ostia by Marconi Metro North), and others where the situation is rather more quiet (Via Ostia to the same South, or Via Marconi).
It 'a unique system of local mobile information, those who still are not very present in our country for a number of problems and costs associated with the presence of infrastructure capable of detecting traffic flow on a given network.
The idea of using mobile phones, it is rather obvious given their spread, is not new. In the absence of dedicated infrastructure (poles that detect the flow of traffic detection systems using GPS fleet of TPL, etc..), In the past had already been proposed to use the GPS signals of mobile phones but the phone companies had always put on the table (as well as economic demands, I guess), even privacy issues.
How did Google? Focusing on collaboration with some companies that specialize, but also - and this is the real news - the users of the road: leave our phone switched on (I recommend with flat rate data traffic) on Google Mobile can send a signal that, added to other users can give important information to everyone, especially those who are moving (it is actually more complex, but the concept is this). If, in the office before leaving, I realize that my usual route is congested (red or black), we can program a different, perhaps longer, but smoother.
The first alarm is privacy: it was already successful with Google Street View. I believe that many aspects of privacy are overrated. We are increasingly being used to "update our profile," or our "state" in various social networks, we use more and more frequent economic currency, rather than notes, to avoid the queue, choose the Telepass, or take photographs with the geolocation .
Google Traffic, can do good mobility. Only depends on us. Sweatch On!
