Researchers from MIT and Princeton have collaborated and come up with a smartphone application that can predict whether the incoming traffic light would be red, green, or yellow once the driver reaches it. The SignalGuru app works by mounting the smartphone onto the car's dashboard. Then, the app captures images of traffic lights, which are analyzed based on the lights it flashed. Finally, the data is passed along to other nearby SignalGuru users.

The app can inform the driver how quickly he or she should drive to get through the next intersection. If the next traffic light is already red, the driver can choose to travel at a slower speed and save gas in the process.

The SignalGuru has been tested in Singapore, where makes use of the dynamic traffic light system that directs traffic based on car volume; as well as in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the old, time-based traffic lights are still being used. The results, according to MIT, is that the app has helped drivers cut fuel consumption by as much as 20 percent.

The app has yet to be made available to the public, but it already faces a tough challenge: Like any upstart crowdsourcing app, SignalGuru needs to have enough users to make the data reliable.

Source: Extreme Tech, via Time