Bangalore: Encountering red signal while in hurry or just enjoying the ride could be vexing, and fuel consuming too. What if one gets a magic crystal predicting the red signal? Well, they would grab it at first instance itself. Sensing this, researchers at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) have developed an app where dashboard-mounted Smartphones help drivers foresee red light, and help avoiding it.

The app ‘Signal Guru’ predicts when a traffic signal is about to change, and the speed should be driven while approaching a signal in order to cruise through without stopping.

"The stop-and-go pattern that traffic signals create increases fuel consumption significantly," said Emmanouil Koukoumidis, the app developer.

"We wondered how we could help drivers cruise through signal light intersections without stopping, and how much we could save on gas and improve the flow of vehicles," he added.

How it works?

While approaching an intersection, the camera on a driver's dashboard-mounted Smart phone is activated, which detects when a signal transits from red to green and vice versa. Using this information, the app determines the speed that should be driven to avoid stopping at a red light, or a green light about to turn red.

Crowdsourcing information about signal lights is necessary, Koukoumidis said, because this data is difficult to access from traffic authorities, which are not unified and do not always have the information computerized, which could pose safety concerns, so driver’s discretion is required.