Nokia turns people into traffic sensors - By Erica Ogg  February 8, 2008 - UNION CITY, Calif.--On a cool, overcast morning in the parking lot of a Lowe's hardware store, 100 UC Berkeley students lined up in rows ready to jump into a bevy of idling vehicles. With media and VIPs from companies like Nokia, Navteq, General Motors, BMW, and CalTrans looking on, wave after wave of students left the parking lot to drive a 10-mile stretch of the nearby 880 freeway as part of a large-scale experiment to test how cell phones can monitor and predict traffic. The test, conducted all day Friday, was put on by the California Center for Innovative Transportation (CCIT) as a joint project between Nokia, CalTrans, and Berkeley's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Video: Using cell phones to track traffic Each student car was issued a Nokia N95 phone with GPS and special traffic-monitoring software developed by Nokia's Palo Alto, Calif.-based research lab--plus a Bluetooth headset. As the students drove the freeway, the phone sent data about each car's speed and position back to the company's research facility. The data is compiled and used to predict traffic patterns and help drivers get where they need to be quickly. Nokia hopes that one day the system could be a significantly cheaper way to track traffic than the permanent sensors installed in roadways or next to them because it uses equipment most people already own: cell phones. Alex Bayen, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and lead researcher on the project for Berkeley, called the experiment "a glimpse into the future of traffic information collecting and data processing." An obvious concern is privacy, and one that Bayen was quick to address. The information sent from each phone is designed to keep each "moving traffic sensor" anonymous. When the information is sent to Nokia, Bayen says all of the personal identifying information is stripped from the data, and encryption methods on the level of what banks use is employed to keep information private. Also, the traffic monitoring software only broadcasts information when it senses the phone has entered a specific area, like a highway. It does not track the phones that are on cul-de-sacs, for example. The data from the phones will be sent back to the Nokia Research Center where a team will analyze the usability of the data and determine what comes next. Nokia Chief Technology Officer Bob Iannucci, who was on hand for the field test, said this particular project is moving at a more aggressive pace than most of Nokia's research because of the potential impact of the experiment. The phone maker hopes to expand the experiment from 100 to possibly 1,000 people soon. And instead of participating in a one-day test, users would be invited to use the traffic monitoring software in the course of their daily routines. To see CNET News.com's video of the experiment, click here. Union City History Once the home of Costanoan Indians and then part of the lands of Mission San Jose, Union City began developing in the 1850's when farmers and traders settled in the area. The village grew around a general store established by Henry Smith. Its industrial future was established when it became the site of the first successful beet sugar mill, a natural outgrowth of the farming community. Low transportation costs, because of nearby Alvarado Dock on Alameda Creek, made it a significant shipping port for the area’s produce. In 1959, the towns of Alvarado and Decoto combined to form Union City. Today, the community is composed of industrial parks, inviting resi-dential areas and commercial development. In 1998-99, more than 3,000 new homes were built. Also, an 80-acre shopping center opened with a 25-screen theater complex, a hotel and more than a dozen restaurants. Union City also has its own bus service, UC Transit, which connects to AC Transit and BART.  Source: Bay Area Almanac Union City Statistics Population (year 2000): 66,869, Est. population in July 2002: 69,879 (+4.5% change) Males: 33,248 (49.7%), Females: 33,621 (50.3%) Land area: 19.3 square miles Zip code: 94587 Median resident age: 32.8 years Median household income: $71,926 (year 2000) Median house value: $312,600 (year 2000) The median income for a household in the city was $71,926, and the median income for a family was $74,910. Males had a median income of $45,212 versus $35,085 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,890. About 4.8% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the povert line, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over. Current sales tax is 8.75% (shared with Alameda County) 2000 Alameda County Census Union City, CA Union City Street Map Origin of Street Names Smith St. - Henry C. Smith. Founder of New Haven. Horner St. - James Horner. Founder of "Union City". Veasy St. - A. M. Veasy. Build First Hotel in Alvarado. Whipple Rd. - John C. & Edwin Whipple. Founding Family. Decoto Rd. - Ezra Decoto. Founding Family. Dyer St. - Ephram Dyer. Founding Family. Vallejo St. - Jose Jesus Vallejo. Landowner of Mission San Jose. Bulmer St. - Capt. Bulmer. Operated First Store. Barron's Way - Capt. Richard Barron. Owned Barron's Landing. Brooklyn - Ship that brought first settlers in 1846. Source: Union City Historical Museum Points of Interest  Union City's Leisure Services  New Haven School District New Haven Adult School Union City Chamber of Commerce Union City Library Services   Kaiser Medical Offices - Union City Certified Farmers' Market Year-round every Tuesday from 10am to 2pm, rain or shine. Farmers' Market Recipes   Kaiser Permanente - Northern California Washington Hospital - Fremont Elder Care Alliance is a nonprofit organization committed to serving and enriching the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of older adults through a network of professional, faith-centered care communities and services.  Elder Care Communities Union City Paratransit Senior Citizen Services Union City Hotel Directory   Celebrating 100 years   April 28, 2007 -- In 1907, parishioners, tired of traveling to a church in Niles, got a church of their own. During the past 100 years, Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church has become part of the lifeblood of Decoto, an old train and steel-casting town that merged with Alvarado to become Union City.  Visit Our Lady of the Rosary Church web site   Employment Opportunities Union City Flash Designers Directory Telogy Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Molecular Devices Scads of Bay Area Jobs   Union City BART Station Hayward BART Station South Hayward BART Station  Amtrak station Hayward  Capitol Corridor Train   New Earthquake Maps - Four Seismic Hazard Zone maps affecting Oakland, Hayward, Union City, Fremont, Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, Newark and other communities -- became official Wednesday. The maps, issued by the Department of Conservation California Geological Survey, impact planners, developers, property sellers and real estate agents. Color copies of official maps can be purchased through DOC's California Geological Survey (415) 904-7707 or (916) 445-5716. The maps also can be viewed and downloaded on the Web at http://gmw.consrv.ca.gov/shmp.   For Union City Real Estate, Call Joanne L. Gardiner, Broker, e-PRO Realtor Advantage Realty Advantage Mortgage Associates 3205 Whipple Road - Union City, California 94587 (on the border of Hayward @ Union City/Hesperian Blvd.) (510) 429-4800 San Francisco Bay Area  San Francisco East Bay Real Estate web site: http://www.joannegardiner.com Have a question or suggestion?  Our primary services in the San Francisco Bay Area are: East bay real estate,  Hayward real estate, Castro Valley real estate,  Danville real estate,  Dublin real estate,  Fremont real estate,  Newark real estate, Niles real estate, Pleasanton real estate, San Leandro real estate, San Lorenzo real estate, San Ramon real estate, Sunol real estate and Union City real estate.  The types of real estate in which we specialize are:  houses, homes, condominiums, townhomes, garden homes, PUDs, single family homes, manufactured homes, mobile homes, modular homes, duets, residential income property, duplexes, tri-plexes, four-plexes, small apartment complexes and special use properties. 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