Skip to main content

Bluetooth technology to shorten travel times

A new traffic app recently launched in Adelaide, South Australia, is helping drivers avoid roadworks and traffic jams with real-time updates. AddInsight taps into more than 400 of Adelaide’s state-of-the-art Bluetooth receivers, which monitor the city’s road network in real-time and broadcasts verbal messages to drivers in about approaching delays through a vehicle’s hands free systems and mobile phones. The free app has been released at a time when the South Australian capital’s road network has been
April 20, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
A new traffic app recently launched in Adelaide, South Australia, is helping drivers avoid roadworks and traffic jams with real-time updates.

AddInsight taps into more than 400 of Adelaide’s state-of-the-art Bluetooth receivers, which monitor the city’s road network in real-time and broadcasts verbal messages to drivers in about approaching delays through a vehicle’s hands free systems and mobile phones.

The free app has been released at a time when the South Australian capital’s road network has been plagued with disruptions caused by major infrastructure improvements such as new freeways and building projects.

Travel times determined using the information from the Bluetooth beacons are also broadcast on more than 47 electronic signs around metropolitan Adelaide to help motorists choose their fastest route.

The Bluetooth data allows traffic control centres to change traffic signals immediately in response to incidents such as crashes.

South Australian Transport and Infrastructure Minister Stephen Mullighan said the unique traffic app would help shorten travel time. “The AddInsight app is like having a personal navigator in your car, giving you information in advance about hazards or delays ahead, so you can avoid them by finding an alternative route,” he said.
UTC

Related Content

  • February 19, 2024
    Alternate routes with SkedGo’s Traffic-Alt
    Traffic incident alert app uses data sourced from Main Roads Western Australia
  • May 4, 2016
    Priority boosts ridership and cuts congestion
    Transit priority is proving a win-win in Europe and Australia. David Crawford reports. Technology that integrates with the Australian-originated Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS) is driving bus signal priority and performance analysis initiatives on both sides of the world; in its homeland, with a major deployment in 2015, and in the capital of the Republic of Ireland.
  • July 17, 2012
    Real time active traffic management improves travel times
    Traffic management centres (TMC) have traditionally served to provide surveillance and responses to traffic incidents and recurring and non-recurring changes in road networks. Typically, a TMC collected field data from the roadway and transit infrastructure and provided the integration necessary for operators to see what was happening and then coordinate a response. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) guided operators on how to respond to a given situation. It eventually became impractical for TMC operat
  • November 20, 2013
    Bluetooth and Wi-Fi offer new options for travel time measurements
    New trials show Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals can be reliably used for measuring travel times and at a lower cost than an ANPR system, but which is the better proposition depends on many factors. Measuring travel times has traditionally relied automatic number plate (or licence plate) recognition (ANPR/ALPR) cameras capturing the progress of vehicles travelling along a pre-defined route. Such systems also have the benefit of being able to count passing traffic and have become a vital tool in dealing with c