The Customer Magazine 3|2010
The Joy of Cirque
From its modest beginnings in a remote town in northern Québec to Broadway and Vegas, Cirque du Soleil has rocketed to international acclaim as one of the most innovative global entertainment businesses.
Turning Challanges into Opportunities
Emerging economies need strong government leadership to drive socioeconomic development. According to Dr. Philemon Mjwara, director general of South Africa's Department of Science and Technology (DST), there is significant evidence that information and communication technology (ICT) can stimulate this process.
The New Digital Wonderland
Web 2.0 is already passé, at least in comparison to the impending Internet of Things and Internet of Services. These phenomena will radically change the business world and our everyday lives - including providing new opportunities for growth.
03.02.2010
Avoiding Traffic Jams with Twitter & iPhone
By: Christoph Zeidler
It was SAP’s first official iPhone app, and an extremely useful one at that – particularly for the traffic-snarled cityfolk of Brisbane, Australia. Let's take a look at how AUS Traffic works and how it came to be.
Drive around traffic jam with iPhone and SAP Research (photo: Frank Völkel)
“Multiple vehicle crash at the intersection of Beaudesert and Bradman.“ “Missing manhole cover at the intersection of Beatty and Marshall.“ These are the kind of traffic updates the iPhone app AUS Traffic displays using red pushpins on Google’s map of Brisbane. The updates come from the local road traffic authorities, radio stations, and alert drivers who post them to Twitter. AUS Traffic then brings them straight to iPhone users; it’s fast, easy, and always up-to-date.
How should I make it home?
But where did SAP Research employees in Brisbane get the idea to work on traffic reports, of all things? What does this have to do with SAP? “It all began with the flooding here last fall,” recalls project lead Marek Kowalkiewicz. Over the three days it took for the waters to subside, people all over the city posted over 1,200 tweets. “Twitter was the best way to find out where the most water was, which streets were passable, and how to get home or to the office,” Marek says. Since no one could read all of the messages, SAP’s researchers set about finding a solution that would provide only the information relevant to them. They soon had a server up and performing text analysis to help with the sorting. The seed thus planted, Marek and his colleagues then came up with a new application for their idea: helping car drivers avoid a different type of “flood” on the roads. The AUS Traffic app now also covers Sydney, and availability is planned for Melbourne, Perth, and Adelaide in the months ahead.
“One of the main focuses of our research is text analysis, and we’re looking for sensible and innovative ways to implement this,” Marek says. “The app started as a spontaneous idea, but it’s also been an attempt to show our customers the potential of SAP software and how flexible our solutions can be.”
Next Page: How does it all work, exactly
Comments (2)
John Appleby (22.02.2010, 13:29)
I thought the SAP BusinessObjects Explorer app predates this - is this actually the first \\\"official\\\" SAP app? Cool, if so! Also I don\\\'t mean to be a spoilsport but it is illegal in this country at least to hold a phone like that and drive, or twitter and drive, or anything like that. Is it legal in Australia? I can see the headlines now \\\"Multiple vehicle crash at the intersection of Beaudesert and Bradman, caused by Twitter user posting traffic jam details on his iPhone\\\"...
Ramana Malladi (06.04.2010, 05:06)
It is a good solution. Can this be extended to navigators(GPRS) too.