Researchers from MIT and Princeton University created a system that uses a network of smartphones mounted on car dashboards to collect information about traffic signals and tell drivers when slowing down could help them avoid waiting at lights. By reducing the need to idle and accelerate from a standstill, the system saves gas: In tests conducted in Cambridge, Mass., it helped drivers cut fuel consumption by 20 percent.
The system is intended to capitalize on a growing trend, in which drivers install brackets on their dashboards so that they can use their smartphone as a GPS navigator while driving. But unlike previous in-car cellphone applications, the new system, dubbed SignalGuru, relies on images captured by the phones’ cameras. The computing infrastructure that underlies the system could be adapted to a wide range of applications: The camera could, for instance, capture information about prices at different gas stations, about the locations and rates of progress of city buses, or about the availability of parking spaces in urban areas, all of which could be useful to commuters.Learn more from MIT.
Increasing Fuel Efficiency with a Smartphone
