PLANNING AND LEADERSHIP FOR A BETTER WORLD
PLANNING AND LEADERSHIP FOR A BETTER WORLD As technology becomes increasingly ubiquitous, engineers, developers and government agencies are finding clever ways of obtaining vital information from how we use the technology. Google engineers, for example, are using search-engine queries to predict disease outbreaks around the world.
In this two-part series, we’ll look at how developers are taking advantage of built-in smartphone features, such as GPS, gyroscopes and accelerometers, to glean valuable data about the country’s transportation systems.
For example, New York City’s subway system has recently seen a major improvement with the addition of time displays that alert riders when the next train will arrive. The system, while useful for travelers, requires an array of sensors that cost money and take time to implement, according to a recent article in The New York Times. It also is only useful for people actually in the subway.
Now, one application developer has suggested that real-time subway schedules could be easily calculated using existing infrastructure: riders’ smartphones.
The NextTrain app uses user phone signal data to provide real-time schedules of the New York City subway system. (Source: Densebrain)
Densebrain, a Web-development company known for applications like SitorSquat, which finds the nearest public restroom, and NYCMate, which maps New York’s transit system, is behind the technology, incorporated into an application called NextTrain.
NextTrain tracks changes in Base Station Identification, the physical towers from which cell phones get their signals. As people move around the city, their phones automatically connect to the nearest tower. But when they go into the subway, their phones lose their signals. NextTrain charts when and where a phone loses its signal and where the signal is regained in order to create a real-time schedule of the city’s trains.
Starting this month, the 600,000 users of NYCMate will be able to activate NextTrain on their phones to find information about train schedules and add to its accuracy.
While the NextTrain technology currently only works in underground systems, other applications are being developed to track aboveground public transportation.
California-based NextBus uses GPS to track almost 100 transit systems around the country, including the massive Los Angeles bus system. The NextBus technology involves outfitting vehicles with a satellite-tracking device that takes into account its location, intended stops and traffic patterns to accurately predict its schedule, which can then be viewed online and on mobile devices.
As any rider of public transportation knows, normal timetables often vary considerably due to circumstances like traffic, construction and weather. With advancements in positioning technology, transportation systems should become easier to predict and to use.
In the second part of this series, we’ll take a look at how similar applications are being developed for personal transportation like automobiles and buses.
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