Try to picture the last time you reached for the trifold map in your glove box or car door panel and plotted your route. Having trouble?
Over the last few decades, breakthroughs in technology brought drivers better, simpler ways of navigating the roads. Portable navigation devices were introduced, then in-dash GPS systems and finally, smartphone apps.
As navigation radically changed, so did commuting. As recent as eight years ago, drivers knew where to go, but had no way of knowing if the route they were on would lead them into the thick of heavy traffic, or worse, a crash or hazard.
That’s where INRIX came in. We looked at more than just the combination of roads that lead to an endpoint – we helped drivers become smarter commuters. Today, drivers are empowered to look beyond points A and B to truly understand what they will encounter along the way. With the INRIX Traffic app, drivers can access real-time traffic data to select the fastest route to their destination.
And on Thursday, we’re launching INRIX Traffic 5.0, making it easier than ever to glance ‘n go with a redesigned user interface that displays the traffic map, live cameras, incidents and your arrival time all on one screen. Get ready for even more new features when INRIX Traffic 5.0 goes live in the app store this week.
So what will commuting look like in the future? Well, with the realization of wearable technology like Google Glass, the possibilities are endless. But here are a few scenarios to get you started:
Imagine INRIX Traffic on Google Glass:
- Avoid Delays with Auto-Reroute
While you’re in route, you receive a notification on the fly alerting you to congestion or an incident up ahead. You reply and ask to be rerouted. The app provides a reroute option based on your final destination, avoiding the congestion altogether. You are shown the “route summary” in a clean and easy format.
- Report Incidents with a Photo
Using the Google Glass UX for taking and sharing photos, you snap a picture of the incident ahead, navigate to it and select the “INRIX report” share card to upload it to our web application. Your images are stored both locally, on your Google+ account and in our app.
- Keep Others Informed of Your ETA
A pinned card on your Google Glass timeline recurrently updates, showing your ETA to your current destination. You can select that card and send it to a contact to keep them informed of your whereabouts. “Send my INRIX arrival time to Laura” will utilize your embedded Google contact information and send a Google Talk message, or email (if not Google email address) to Laura, utilizing the standard INRIX messaging.
- Enjoy More of the Things You Love
Once you arrive at your destination, INRIX will push a notification to Glass informing you of exactly how much time you saved by using INRIX Traffic. This notification will be calculated based the time difference between your normal route and the alternative route you chose during the reroute scenario.
Want to know more about what INRIX Traffic could look like on Google Glass? Check out the video below.
What do you think the future of commuting will look like? Leave a comment and let us know.