The City of Marietta in the US state of Georgia has entered the deployment and public testing phase of the TravelSafely smartphone application that will offer smart city services through everything-to-everything (X2X) communications.
Now available to citizens using Apple or Android devices, the Marietta TravelSafely app is designed to save lives and improve traffic flow by reducing first responder response times and making drivers, cyclists and pedestrians more visible to each other.
In its current format, TravelSafely connects first responders, school warning beacons, driver feedback signs, traffic control equipment, and anonymous smartphones using the app to create a connected network.
Not only will first responders in Marietta automatically be given green lights at pre-cleared intersections to provide a safer route and shorten response time, but app users along the route of the first responder vehicle will also be warned of its approach and direction of travel.
Using the app, vehicles will be notified when they are in a school zone, when the beacons are active, and be given a warning if they exceed the school zone speed limit by 10mph (16km/h). Vehicles approaching any of the city’s 120 traffic signal-controlled intersections will communicate with roadside equipment so drivers can adapt to traffic flow.
Another feature of the app notifies drivers about the presence of cyclists and pedestrians ahead, who in turn will be warned if a vehicle is approaching at an unsafe speed. Anyone driving, cycling or walking in the city can use the app, which will automatically work within the city’s 23 square mile area.
The city authorities are now requesting that citizens help with the testing and further development of the app by downloading a Beta version. The technology behind the TravelSafely app has been developed and manufactured by Applied Information Inc., with deployment by Temple Inc. Like all smartphone apps, Marietta TravelSafely will be automatically updated with additional functions and improvements as they are developed.
“This will be an invaluable tool, available to not only our citizens, but every person who enters the City of Marietta,” said Marietta City Manager Bill Bruton. “This free app will provide an additional layer of communication which will help better keep our citizens informed and aware of their surroundings. Our goal is to improve the safety of drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians, while addressing traffic concerns of our citizens. We are very excited about this new use of technology which is a first in the USA and will improve the quality of life of our community.”
