Google Maps with live and predictive traffic forecasting… Who knew!?

I drafted the below post over the holiday’s in all the excitement leading up to the launch of Nexus One. All the talk got me thinking about some of the powerful applications Google could contribute to as their mobile platform continues to grow. Turns out, what I’ve described below pretty much already exists! If, like me, you didn’t already know that… the Official Google Blog has more info, not to mention Tom Tom who’s published a white paper about their similar HD Traffic service.

I’ve left the below post in tact below… naive musings and all. The only thing I should add is that as Google gets more confident in their dataset, I hope they’ll do a better job of promoting this. Apparently Google Maps are still truly best. –djd

—

The imminent release of Google’s Nexus One has been rampant in the news the last few weeks. While others speculate over whether this will finally be a true iPhone killer or how it will strain relations with Google’s existing partners, I’d argue the more interesting potential isn’t in what hardware Google brings to market but in how it leverages the user-base to offer new compelling services in a way only Google can.

Think of it this way… smartphones present the possibility of an always-connected, mobile, distributed computing network, complete with sophisticated on-board sensors. If only someone could harness them to capture relevant real-time data to then provide smarter and better services (while respecting privacy concerns of course)… Enter Google.

One of Google’s biggest strengths has to be their unique ability to go after the big problems. Ones that require intelligently sorting and sifting through massive amounts of data (Web Search), or ones that require you to go out and find ways to digitize the data in the first place (Streetview). Why not then take it a step further and try to organize some of the ‘data’ we’re faced with haphazardly every day. Say traffic for example.

—

Proposing… Google Maps with Live and Predictive Traffic Forecasting.

Take for a moment the current state of play for GPS devices. Most systems are unidirectional in that they can calculate a position based on the GPS signal they receive over the air, and then relate it against a built in map source that needs to be updated manually to remain current. Now that status quo is changing with Android and the iPhone as maps, points of interest, and even live traffic for major routes can be downloaded directly to the device on demand. This is a great win for consumers because previous bidirectional systems would have required a dedicated service plan for data but this is no longer necessary as it’s bundled with your cell phone plan.

But there’s still significant room for advancement.

While live traffic information can be helpful, its sparse at best, and for good reason. Historically such systems required a vast network of on the ground sensors capable of relaying real time information to a central system that could process it. This is expensive to deploy and limited to major routes. But lo and behold the times are a changin and our army of smartphones already act as a vast distributed network with sufficient sensing and processing power… plus the persistent network connection is icing on the cake!

So how would it work.

PRIVACY AND OPT IN
First and foremost such a system would have to be opt-in with additional safeguards in place to ensure personal information was not captured.

DATA CAPTURE and TRANSMIT
While running the mapping application, data would be captured in real time describing the current time, your precise location, direction of travel, and current speed. To ensure the data was relevant, information would be discarded if it didn’t correspond with a roadway (i.e., sitting in the McDonald’s drive thru wouldn’t count). Additionally on board accelerometers and other sensors could be employed to verify the user was in fact driving and not walking down the sidewalk for example.

Periodically (but within a few minutes if possible) this data would be summarized, compressed and transmitted to the central traffic server in the cloud.

CENTRAL SERVER
The central server’s role would be to receive and aggregate all the incoming data both to generate a historical view of typical road speeds for any given stretch of road at any point in time, as well as to look for anomalies in the real-time data which could signify an incident.

BETTER ROUTING
With this powerful analysis, ideal routing could be provided in realtime as conditions change on this ground.

Besides the obvious benefits of faster trips, and less frustration stuck in traffic, it also means far better utilization of available roadways, plus fewer emissions and fuel consumption.

—

So will Google do it? Who knows… but I hope so. They’ve already dabbled with the idea of predictive traffic in Google Maps, and Google seems particularly suited to collect, process, and make accessible the vast amount of data. Plus the rise of the smartphone means it’s all possible without requiring a massive investment in infrastructure. If they really wanted to, I don’t see why this couldn’t be made available openly as well for the iPhone, all Android sets, or even the Palm pre. I won’t hold my breath on all that so here’s to hoping that sometime soon it will come to the Nexus One.

Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Do let me know.

Theoretically Similar Posts:

• WEP vs. WAP – Something I should have known…
• What to do with an iPhone?
• Backpack for Travel Plans
• Gmail – Now with Free IMAP Support
• iPhone App Recommendations