Optus to monitor traffic flows by tracking drivers' cellphones

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 21 November 2006 01:18

Your IT - Home IT

Optus is to trial a UK technology that provides real-time information on road congestion and journey times by monitoring the locations of cellphones belonging to a large number of road users.

Optus is trialling UK based ITIS' Cellular Floating Vehicle Data technology (CFVD) in a project initiated and managed by Traffic Intelligence Pty Ltd, the exclusive licensee of ITIS' CFVD technology in Australia.

The trial aims to prove that the technology can provide high quality traffic information that can be sold to a wide range of public sector and private organisations and to intermediaries providing services to individual travellers. The pilot is being funded through the Optus Nokia Future Lab, a joint initiative set up to test and develop potential mobile applications. CFVD was developed by Israel based Estimotion which was founded in July 2000 and was acquired by ITIS in December 2003.

David Quayle, Managing Director of Traffic Intelligence said: "The applications we have in mind will make the high quality traffic information available to a wide range of users. From the individual road user, to large transport fleets to the national and local government organisations, that want to know what is actually happening on their road networks."

Stuart Marks, CEO of ITIS Holdings said, "We  believe that we will be able to demonstrate good traffic flow data in Sydney very soon."

IT IS claims that its technology is already deployed in a number of markets around the world and represents a viable alternative to fixed sensor technologies which require the deployment of a large number of vehicle detectors beneath the road surface or alongside the road. ITIS claims CFVD gives greater granularity of information on main highways than sensor technology and is also able to provide information on minor routes which it would be too costly to equip with fixed sensors.