Predictive Traffic Information for navigation systems

Inrix, TrafficCast and Journey Dynamics will be incorporating massive changes in the development of future navigation systems, which will be labeled the predictive traffic models, and will feature the like of present speed profile data with metadata, for example scheduled events, weather forecasts, vehicle type, and driving behavior, all relative to the particular driver and vehicle.

Of course many navigation systems, from a range of manufacturers, already include similar features which allow users to see what issues regarding traffic lie ahead.

This doesn’t seem to be enough though, and even though current systems allow present time traffic updates and quick route changes, they don’t allow a forecasting feature, which can predict a potential build up of heavy traffic, before it even happens.

ABI Research believes the technology will be in full scale production by 2013.

Predictive travel will benefit a range of interested parties, from families on their way to a weekend break, to a businessman, whose time is valuable.

By forecasting a journey, each party can assess the excess traffic and evaluate the ETA by using current traffic conditions and predictive traffic, to determine whether postponing a journey, or taking another route, may be the best option.

This is all good and well, but manufacturers must first make user friendly, interactive interfaces, and increase the power output, without increasing the size of the systems, before they think about implementing the production on a large scale.