Agilent Technologies Research Wins Java-Technology Award from Sun Microsystems; Measurement System Enables Sharing of Traffic Data for Improved Commuting.PALO ALTO Palo Alto, city, California Palo Alto (păl`ō ăl`tō), city (1990 pop. 55,900), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1894. Although primarily residential, Palo Alto has aerospace, electronics, and advanced research industries. , Calif. -- Agilent Technologies This article needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :A) researchers have developed a measurement system that uses cell phones to gather traffic data from a community of commuters to generate information about local road conditions. OurTraffic, one of the projects introduced at Sun Microsystems' annual JavaOne conference in San Francisco, was awarded the Duke's Choice Award by Sun Vice President and Fellow James Gosling. Named after the Java-technology mascot, Duke, the award recognizes innovation and the exceptional use of Java technology. OurTraffic is based on Java Distributed Data Acquisition and Control (JDDAC JDDAC Java Distributed Data Acquisition and Control ), an open-source platform for building sensor networks and data-acquisition systems. "Hopefully, with Agilent's OurTraffic and other applications like it, gridlock Gridlock A government, business or institution's inability to function at a normal level due either to complex or conflicting procedures within the administrative framework or to impending change in the business. and traffic congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. will soon be eliminated," said Mark Herring, senior director of Java Brand Marketing, Sun Microsystems. "We are proud of Agilent's continued innovation, and are happy to award them another Duke's Choice Award. Two awards in two years is an amazing achievement." OurTraffic enables commuters in a particular area to share their individual traffic data to generate maps of current and historical traffic flow. This capability allows commuters to plan their routes based on actual road conditions. OurTraffic monitors road conditions with a distributed network of collaborating mobile devices. A Java program -- which runs on commuters' global-positioning-system-enabled cell phones or personal-digital-assistant (PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) A handheld computer for managing contacts, appointments and tasks. It typically includes a name and address database, calendar, to-do list and note taker, which are the functions in a personal information manager (see PIM). ) devices -- records data on their position and velocity as they travel, and sends the data in real time to a server. The server then integrates data from the devices to provide comprehensive real-time traffic maps on the Web. "We are honored to see our innovations in Agilent Laboratories again receive Sun's prestigious recognition at JavaOne," said Darlene J.S. Solomon, vice president and director of Agilent Laboratories. "OurTraffic has the potential to put into place a pervasive measurement capability, providing commuters a greater understanding of real-time changing traffic conditions than is possible today." This system is inexpensive to deploy and easy to operate because the cost of data-collection is spread across the entire commuter community. Current methods of collecting traffic data -- such as road sensors, cameras, helicopters and police accident reports -- can be expensive and delayed, and typically cover only the major arteries. Commuters who want to generate OurTraffic traffic maps for their area will need a GPS-enabled phone that supports Java. Information about setup, as well as traffic maps for the San Francisco Bay Area “Bay Area” redirects here. For other uses, see Bay Area (disambiguation). The San Francisco Bay Area, colloquially known as the Bay Area or The Bay and Everett, Wash., can be found at www.ourtraffic.org. Raw traffic data is also available for download for customized analysis and visualization. JDDAC enables Java applications to interact with the physical world by providing the means to manage transducers and to access measurement data streams. JDDAC is based on the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York, www.ieee.org) A membership organization that includes engineers, scientists and students in electronics and allied fields. 1451 standards for smart transducers and has been used in a variety of applications, ranging from simple desktop measurement setups to field deployments of sensor networks. JDDAC is also the technology behind NetBEAMS, a sensor network for oceanographic research that was awarded the 2005 Duke's Choice Award. About Agilent Technologies Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) is the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. The company's 20,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenue of $5.1 billion in fiscal 2005. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com. NOTE TO EDITORS: Further technology, corporate citizenship Corporate Citizenship The extent to which businesses are socially responsible in meeting legal, ethical and economic responsibilities placed on them by shareholders. The aim it to create higher standards of living and quality of life in the community in which it operates, while and executive news is available on the Agilent news site at www.agilent.com/go/news. |
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