Clearflow has emerged from the Microsoft AI US$1.9bn R&D budget (refer to blog reference AI 2) to apply machine learning to the problem of urban traffic jams. The Web-based service claims to be able to give drivers accurate alternative route information because it predicts where drivers will go when they move off of congested main roads.
The Clearflow system will be freely available as part of Microsoft’s Cloud service for 72 cities in the United States. Microsoft says it will give drivers alternative route information that is more accurate and attuned to current traffic patterns on both freeways and side streets. The new service will on occasion plan routes that might not be intuitive to a driver. For example, in some cases Clearflow will compute that a trip will be faster if a driver stays on a crowded highway, rather than taking a detour, because side streets are even more backed up by cars that have fled the original traffic jam.
This AI solution is a challenge to Google and Yahoo Cloud mapping services and is positioned as a Web 4.0 application (refer to blog reference AI 1) – AI complementing human knowledge.
