Photos: Nokia's Mobile Century traffic project

So your brand new cell phone has built-in GPS and high-speed internet connectivity. Why then, can't it be used as a traffic probe, reporting its speed and location to a central server to provide accurate, real-time information on current traffic conditions? That was the question being answered today in Northern California in a large-scale field test called "Mobile Century" being conducted by Nokia, The University of California Berkeley, and the California Transportation department. Using a fleet of 100 test vehicles, researchers spent the day monitoring cars that were equipped with specially programmed Nokia N95 smart phones, which intermittently reported their locations to a central command center to give a read out on traffic conditions in real-time.

In the driver's seat

Students from UC Berkeley provided a supply of test drivers who were sent out in three teams with different assigned routes. Cars were sent out in waves of three vehicles per minute.

Photo Credit: CNET Networks