A new iPhone App, SubwayArrival is looking to help travellers on NYC subway system identify whether their trains are late or on-time with live tracking. The app created by Alex Bell is still under development at the moment but brings a real time tracking facility to iPhone users without the need to use any MTA’s resources.
The clever system uses data from iPhones using the SubwayArrival to calculate the arrival of trains and track them and feeds this information back to Bell’s main computer system.
The system monitors iPhones that swap to a different cell base-station, or that disappear altogether due to a lost signal and that then reappear a long distance away in a short time. using these markers to calculate train positions and timings.
If you fancy giving the system a go you can download the app from the Apple iTunes store SubwayArrival.
Via Gadget Lab