City of Orlando trialing technology from Alcatel-Lucent to monitor and predict real-time traffic conditions

City of Orlando trialing technology from Alcatel-Lucent to monitor and predict real-time traffic conditions

With traffic congestion in the U.S.A.’s major metro areas on the rise, innovations from Bell Labs help measure traffic flow and suggest alternate routes especially in extreme weather conditions, road construction or special events

Orlando, Fla., and Paris — October 18th, 2011 – The City of Orlando is conducting a trial of new technology from Alcatel-Lucent that can help monitor, manage and predict traffic patterns on roads and highways.  The trial is currently under way in downtown Orlando and will run thru November.

Alcatel-Lucent’s Intelligent Travel Time System (ITTS) application uses analytical techniques from Bell Labs and using Bluetooth technology to provide accurate traffic flow information in real time, including:

§         Journey/travel time information based on route selection on maps (e.g. Google Maps).

§         Real-time traffic congestion monitoring to identify changing traffic patterns.

§         Predicting traffic in situations like extreme weather conditions, or special events (e.g. concerts, sporting events).

§         Speed distribution across lanes.

§         Ability to provide live traffic updates through social media, such as Twitter and Facebook.

§         Personalized travel-time predictions.

§         Uses standard XML interfaces, but can be customized to work with proprietary networks.

• “Green” benefits through reduction in traffic congestion.

“The type of information that we are able to gather through an ITTS system -not only helps with managing both day-to-day and special event traffic in real-time, but will also be extremely valuable to regional planning organizations, municipalities and public safety agencies,” said Charles Ramdatt, City of Orlando Transportation Engineer.  “In addition, the Bluetooth radio technology in cell phones and cost-effective sensors along the roadside has a green benefit since the equipment can be powered by alternative energy sources.”  

“Gridlock cost the U.S. alone more than $100 billion in 2010 – the equivalent of $750 in time and gas for the average commuter in many of the nation’s major metropolitan areas. By 2015, those costs could climb as much as 30%*,” said Robert Vrij, president of Alcatel-Lucent’s Americas Region. “By gathering real-time data, the Alcatel-Lucent Intelligent Travel Time System benefits everyone from commuters to transportation organizations and emergency first responders, who can instantly track and react to traffic issues as they happen.  As a result, ITTS saves time, money and energy — helping both the economy and the environment.” 

About Alcatel-Lucent for Transportation

Alcatel-Lucent has established global leadership and expertise in deploying complex, multi-vendor networks to meet the communications needs of transportation operations globally. These organizations depend on Alcatel-Lucent to transform their dated networks or build new, state-of-the-art communications infrastructures that meet demanding requirements for 24/7 network availability, safety and security. In all cases, the deployments require a partner with a large, global reach, financial strength and decades of experience building carrier-grade networks.

*Source: Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University, as cited in USA Today