deCarta and Inrix Accelerate Traffic-Enabled Location-based Services

location based services

SAN JOSE, Calif., Where 2.0 Conference, June 13 /PRNewswire/ -- deCarta (formerly Telcontar), the leading supplier of software platforms and services for the location-based services (LBS) industry, and Inrix, the leading supplier of real-time and predictive traffic information services, today announced the integration and immediate availability of Inrix's traffic information into deCarta's Drill Down Server(TM) (DDS) and Traffic Manager(TM). At the Where 2.0 Conference in San Jose, the two companies will demonstrate their ability to optimize driving directions based on current traffic conditions including detour rerouting. The companies also announced that Inrix is using deCarta's DDS to align location information from millions of commercial vehicle probes collected each day to the relevant road segments, as part of the Inrix Dust Network.
"The integration of deCarta's DDS platform and the routing functionality of Traffic Manager with Inrix's real-time and predictive traffic information will allow our mutual customers to rapidly deploy next-generation traffic-oriented applications," said Inrix president and CEO Bryan Mistele. "This represents a significant value add for Web portals, wireless navigation companies and fleet application developers."
"This partnership exemplifies how the combination of advanced data sources and new geospatial functionality can bring highly useful applications that provide genuine benefits to users," said Mr. J. Kim Fennell, president and CEO of deCarta. "Inrix is building the capacity to provide the highest level of traffic coverage available, solving one of the problems that has plagued traffic applications in the past. That, combined with traffic-aware routing enabled in DDS offers millions of American drivers not just data, but actionable information that will reduce drive times."
The combination of Inrix's traffic information and deCarta's DDS allows location-based application providers to give users routes that are optimized for current traffic conditions. Rather than just showing where traffic or accidents are, drivers will now know how best to deal with that traffic, whether by receiving modified travel times or by being rerouted to a faster route. Most of today's current mapping and routing services only use default speed limits to calculate drive times and routes. deCarta's DDS uses the current traffic speed information from Inrix to change those default speeds to reflect actual speeds at that time, then calculates the best routes based on that real time information. Using this combination, wireless navigation services using deCarta's DDS can now offer traffic-aware routing to their customers. Similarly, Internet mapping sites can provide users with a better estimate of their driving time to a destination or advanced notification of when they might need to leave earlier to make it to an appointment on time.
To achieve this capability, engineers from both companies have adapted deCarta's Traffic Manager to utilize Inrix traffic data and allow this information to be displayed on maps or integrated into routing calculations performed by deCarta. Both companies are also working together to integrate dynamic predictive traffic information with DDS when it becomes available later this year. With predictive traffic information, drivers will be able to more accurately plan their travel based on accurate predictions of traffic based on data collected though the Inrix Dust Network.
The Inrix Dust Network collects and analyzes anonymous GPS probe data from more than half a million commercial fleet vehicles, delivery trucks, taxis and other vehicles, and combines that data with over 200 additional market-specific sources of information affecting traffic such as road construction and closures, weather, and sporting and entertainment event schedules to generate highly accurate nationwide traffic coverage.
Inrix uses deCarta's DDS to reverse geocode data from its unique network of probe vehicles, snapping the longitude and latitude of real-time probe vehicles to specific road segments, allowing Inrix to then translate the data into accurate speed information. deCarta's DDS is the platform used by high-volume Internet mapping services such as Google, Yahoo and Ask. deCarta customers in aggregate are generating over 2-billion maps per month.
About deCarta
deCarta provides the enabling geospatial software platform that powers today's leading location-based applications. The company specializes in providing solutions ideal for Internet, mobile, and telematics applications where scalability, speed, and reliability are vital. Its Drill Down Server(TM) geospatial software platform and Rich Map Engine(TM) powers today's most successful and widely deployed LBS applications. deCarta customers and technology partners include AND, Appello, Ask, ATX, Google, Hutchison Mobile, Local Matters, Motorola, NAVTEQ, Networks In Motion, Pharos, Rand McNally, Tele Atlas and Yahoo!. deCarta is privately held and headquartered in San Jose, California with international offices in the UK, France and Hong Kong. Additional information about deCarta, its products and services, and past press releases can be found at the Company's web site: http://www.decarta.com/.
About Inrix
Founded in July 2004 by former Microsoft executives Bryan Mistele and Craig Chapman, Inrix delivers nation-wide access to the most advanced and reliable real-time and predictive traffic information available today, providing industry partners and customers with high-quality, accurate data for personal navigation, mapping, and other location-based service applications in the car, online and on mobile devices.
Inrix Traffic Services leverage robust Bayesian statistical analysis to aggregate and enhance traffic-related information from hundreds of public and private sources, going well beyond the limitations of static road sensor networks, historical-based models and cellular data aggregators, to offer customers the most sophisticated understanding of the unique system-wide traffic patterns in each metropolitan area. To experience the traffic technology revolution behind the next-generation of navigation and location- based service applications, visit http://www.inrix.com/.
NOTE: deCarta, Drill Down Server, and Traffic Manager are trademarks or registered trademarks of deCarta, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other product or company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
Source: deCarta