SBIR Phase I: Accurate and Scalable Traffic Estimation and Traffic-Aware Routing

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a system that has the potential to reduce the amount of time and fuel spent by people in road traffic. Leveraging academic research results, this system will incorporate three technologies to provide an end-to-end solution to the traffic problem: 1) software to gather position data from mobile smartphones and a method to process massive amounts of this noisy data (in conjunction with existing bulk traffic data) to produce accurate traffic estimates in real-time, 2) a method to predict traffic delay distributions on road segments using probabilistic graphical models, and 3) a traffic-aware routing engine that uses an efficient and dynamic stochastic routing algorithm, which provides routes that reliably maximize the probability of arriving within a deadline. Traffic is a significant societal problem that affects people on a regular basis. The existing ecosystem for traffic solutions is both complex and inefficient, but the massive disruption being caused by mobile smartphones has the potential to change this in the next few years. The current market demand for traffic subscription services and their renewal rates validates the market for more advanced traffic-aware applications. As an operator of a mobile web service and a provider of the key enabling technologies, the company plans to build revenue by: 1) an ad-supported and value-added service model for consumers running a mobile application, 2) technology licensing to strategic partners, and 3) public/private partnerships with regional governments. The first model provides direct customer access with a predictable and controllable revenue stream. The second and third models provides a large data collection footprint and significant upside penetration of services. If successful, the company has the potential to provide significant societal benefit.