Signal Guru: Still in development
Signal Guru is a smart phone app that's being tested by researchers at Princeton and MIT to show drivers how fast or slow to go to avoid stopping at the next red light. This may sound like a speed demon’s dream application, but it’s actually geared towards fuel efficiency and lessening traffic congestion. According to the researchers, if drivers avoid idling at red lights, fuel use is cut by 20 percent.
NEWS: Traffic Light Stops Cars
When the smart phone is mounted on the dash, the app uses the phone’s ability to connect to others who are also running it, as well as the camera, to keep track of signals. Researchers tested the app in Cambridge, Mass., where fixed schedules are used, and in Singapore, where signals adapt to traffic volume. The fixed schedule tests were off by two-thirds, and the adapting tests were one to two seconds away from complete accuracy. As long as people use the app for its intended purposes, this app (and others like it) when released for commercial use, could help lessen energy consumption.
Credit: Patrick Gillooly at MIT
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