Mobile phones as a basis for traffic state information

Conventional traffic sensors usually need expensive roadside infrastructure or onboard units. The idea was to use existing hardware for floating car technology. This paper describes the methodology to generate traffic state information based on mobile phones as mobile sensors. A demonstrator is run in the area of Vienna where smartphones detect cell transitions. A server deduces traffic information from a series of geo-referenced cell transitions. The required travel times are opposed to the travel times at free traffic flow. Successfully tested output classes represent interfaces to several service providers. Experience from the pilot project shows that the creation of simple sensor systems with existing devices is a useful way.