In two separate projects carried out in Northern Europe, IBM has decided to look at the painful problem of traffic regulation and its impact on the environment. The first, noted by our colleague GreenIT.fr, points to a road pricing initiative implemented by IBM and NXP Semiconductors of Eindhoven in the Netherlands. The project, which has spent 6 months in testing, aims to propose a technological solution to the traffic regulation order to reduce the time spent in traffic jams. The device allows drivers to adjust their behavior according to peak hours and thus pay according to their itinerary charged per km with a GPS board which calculates the total cost of the route based on price road. The project should be extended to the whole country in 2016.

The result is a reduction in mileage, but also a decrease of 10% of CO2 emissions, say our colleague. The second, launched in Stockholm, revolves around the anticipation of travel. IBM has developed a device enabling residents, and local authorities in the Swedish capital, to anticipate their movement through the city in selecting the best option for travel.

IBM centralizes data captured in the city with multiple sources to establish a state of movement. Residents can then send an SMS stating their point of departure and their destination. In return, the service developed by Big Blue will return a snapshot of their traffic and the various means of transport at their disposal and the fastest way.
In a statement, IBM said that "traffic management system implemented has reduced traffic by 20% in the Swedish capital, and travel time by almost 50%. The toxic gas emissions were reduced by 10% and the proportion of green vehicles has increased by 9%.