COMPUTING BOFFINS at IBM are involved in a research programme to provide software that will help commuters avoid traffic jams.

The team of researchers think that by using advanced analytics they can develop adaptive traffic systems that will intuitively learn traveller patterns and behaviour to provide more dynamic travel safety and route information.

Basically the software will be a sort of traffic jam Mystic Meg and will predict where the traffic tieups will happen and at what time of day. It will then offer alternatives.

Of course we would have thought that the danger of that is that if everyone used the system, then the place where the jam was predicted would be clear and the rat runs would be gridlocked.

IBM plans to launch pilot projects for select sets of commuters to analyze, test and refine the new systems. IBM plans to provide program participants with the personalized commuting information via the web, through mobile voice interaction combined with advanced mapping applications on mobile devices.

Meanwhile NXP Semiconductors and IBM have been conducting a road pricing trial in the Netherlands.

It has shown that with the help of technology, drivers can be motivated to change their driving behaviour, reducing traffic congestion and contributing to a greener environment.

Under the scheme drivers had to pay to be on the roads at peak time, so more than 70 per cent of drivers changed their behaviour to avoid rush-hour travel. IBM was involved because it developed the software that kept an eye on the toll-dodging drivers. µ