Nokia is currently working on new cell phones can monitor and predict traffic. Even if it is just in the concept stage, the new phones can allows data to be received from GPS enabled phones, which is then compiled and interpreted into traffic flow patterns. A test was made on Friday using 100 UC Berkeley students under the eyes of media and VIPs from companies like Nokia, Navteq, General Motors, BMW, and CalTrans.

Each student car was issued a Nokia N95 phone with GPS and special traffic-monitoring software developed by Nokia's Palo Alto, Calif.-based research lab--plus a Bluetooth headset. As the students drove the freeway, the phone sent data about each car's speed and position back to the company's research facility. M

The data is compiled and used to predict traffic patterns and help drivers get where they need to be quickly. Nokia hopes that one day the system could be a significantly cheaper way to track traffic than the permanent sensors installed in roadways or next to them because it uses equipment most people already own: cell phones.

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