Assignment #4

Using Public Data to Provide Analysis – INRIX Traffic

INRIX is a downloadable smartphone application that collects data from users to contribute to the traffic analysis output. A precise mapping system highlights roads by colour according to the traffic conditions – green is a good drive, yellow is slow, red is stopped traffic, etc. It updates approximately once a minute to keep the information moving in real time with traffic. Users of the application can contribute by reporting inaccuracies or accidents as they happen. Everyone who uses the app is a contributor via crowd-sourcing – by having the application open on your smartphone you are anonymously sending speed datapoints to the INRIX server, which combines data from all users to produce the most accurate traffic report possible. The more people using the application, the more precise the data. INRIX is available in 20 countries, on all types of smartphones.

Here is the website’s page with information on crowd-sourcing: http://www.inrixtraffic.com/blog/2012/magic-how-inrix-traffic-crowd-sourcing-really-works/