PROMISE--personal mobile traveler and traffic information service

Institute of Transportation Engineers. ITE Journal, Jul 1997 by Ojala, Tommi

Nokia Mobile Phones Ltd. is coordinating a three-year research project developing a system concept for provision of personalized traveler and traffic information through cellular GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) network to portable and in-vehicle terminals. The PROMISE aims at a panEuropean service system offering travelers an easy way to plan and make their trips in an efficient manner. The service is made available through new types of portable and vehicle terminals using existing mobile phone GSM networks for data communication (e.g., Nokia 9000 Communicator).

The PROMISE consortium has a strong core of telecommunications manufacturers and operators, information service providers, road administrations and digital map providers. The European consortium is formed of participants from Finland, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom. The work is partly funded by the European Commission (DG XIII/C6).

So far, the PROMISE project has made a comprehensive user needs study and specified an open architecture for the system. During 1997, the PROMISE pilot systems are being built up. The full-scale demonstrations will take place in six test sites in 1998. About 500 people, equipped with hand-held or in-vehicle terminals, will take part in the validation process. The demonstrations introduce services like multimodal trip planning, centrally determined route guidance, weather, traffic and directory information.

Technical solutions of the PROMISE system are based on the latest developments of the digital industry: Internet and GSM. The internet provides an open and flexible environment to implement value-added services. The participating industrial partners intend to exploit the results by manufacturing terminals, by incorporating the services into their telecommunication infrastructure and by offering services and equipment commercially.

For further information, contact the PROMISE Project Office, Nokia Mobile Phones/Smart Traffic Products, PO. Box 68, FIN-33721 Tampere; fax: 358 10 505 7595; e-mail: PROMISE@nmp.nokia.com; WWW: http://www.promise. hermia.fi.