ABI: Real-Time Traffic Information to Become Key Feature for Navigation

December 29, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS

With basic navigation devices and services becoming commonplace in the industrialized world, the next frontier is a richer variety of location-aware content.

Analysts said the first prominent example of such dynamic content is real-time traffic information, which will be further enhanced by the addition of historical and predictive traffic data to assist drivers in determining the best route.

"When it comes to collecting and distributing useful traffic data, the emphasis is shifting," said ABI Research director Mike Ippoliti.

"Reporting of 'incident data' from accidents, road closures, other emergencies is becoming routine. The next step is predictive and probe-derived data that can deliver information on more complex problems and support rerouting of drivers around traffic problems."

Analysts said three elements are crucial to providing truly useful traffic data for navigation systems.

• First, the traffic data collection ecosystem is complex. Infrastructure measurement systems ( road sensors, cameras, radar or loop sensors) are expensive and hard to install. But alternative collection methods such as floating-car data, and potentially cellular movement data, require no roadside installations and may prove to be the sources of choice for many data collectors.

• A second challenge is traffic data aggregation. As the basic data becomes more available, the complex data derived from floating-car probes or predictive modeling will become the differentiator. But such data are harder to integrate into navigation routing.

• A third factor is market landscape. ABI Research expects Inrix and Navteq/Traffic.com to become the two players in traffic data. Other players will largely become marginalized, or will supply Inrix or Navteq/Traffic.com.