Google takes the 20 minute delay, combines that with tracking android devices on roads they have visibility into .. and that what we see as red, yellow or green on roads displayed in Google Maps on our phones.
Google mushes together data they get themselves directly from android phones.. and yes that is "more" real time-ish.. than the 20 minute lag data they get from the company that contracts to get it from State's highway divisions per EZPasses that go by beacons on the highway.
The reason over time the "lag" has gotten less laggy is that Android is 70% of the market.. but still they do use the other data derived from the State.
Two weeks ago, I was on 101, right by the Googleplex.. and got caught in a "green" area, driving North(ish) toward Shoreline, that was completely socked in with traffic.
Black Sabbath was playing Shoreline Amp and Google traffic was exiting the plex.
Took me over an hour to go a 1/4 mile.. to get out of it. And all the while the Google map was green. :)
So who knows what the real algorithm is...
On Sep 13, 2013, at 6:03 PM, Doc Searls wrote: A side issue for another thread on another list (unless we get a clear answer here): I have had a helluva time finding out *exactly* where the green, red and yellow lines on Google and other traffic maps come from. And I would very much like to know. The EZPass answer is one, but I have also heard (or read) that it is also what our mobile devices tell Google (or NAVTEQ/Nokia/Microsoft, or whom/whatever). But I don't know.
FWIW, the colors often (though not always) seem to reflect real time conditions, and not just those from 20 minutes ago.
Doc On Sep 13, 2013, at 6:27 PM, Mary Hodder <
">
> wrote: This has been a known problem for at least 10 years.
They way it was found out was that 10 or so years ago, someone wanted to return a pass with a credit.
The company sent the owner a mylar or similar envelope to return it in, that would block signal transmission. The UPS truck the returning EZPass was in triggered multiple tolls because it drove across or near toll taking signals.
The pass arrived back to the company with no credit at all. And when the owner looked at the statement, it showed the UPS truck's activities.
The other thing is this is how the state knows how fast people drive on the freeway, by tracking passes on the freeways every 10th of a mile, and that is the basis for selling aggregated data that immediately shows the rates of travel on roads. The company that buys it makes it available for a fee, or for free with a 20 minute delay.
Google takes the 20 minute delay, combines that with tracking android devices on roads they have visibility into .. and that what we see as red, yellow or green on roads displayed in Google Maps on our phones.
mary
On Sep 13, 2013, at 5:15 PM, Adrian Gropper wrote: The Scoble article Doc listed in another thread links to this http://gigaom.com/2013/09/10/with-ibeacon-apple-is-going-to-dump-on-nfc-and-embrace-the-internet-of-things/ about iBeacons.
The technology in one of these long-range (sidewalk to sidewalk) readers may be less than $10 per unit already.
Adrian
On Friday, September 13, 2013, Devon M T Loffreto wrote:
Oh we blinked... just hard to find ethics in tech... and even harder in gov... thus the love child.
On Sep 13, 2013 6:07 PM, "Peter Cranstone" <
');" target="_blank">
> wrote:
I'm not surprised. What the NSA is doing is just the tip of the iceberg. The 4th amendment is dead - and no one even blinked.
Peter
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Adrian Gropper MD
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