Michelin Smartphone Service Delivers Real-Time Traffic Info

At the moment coverage is restricted to French roads, yet the ViaMichelin real time traffic information map scheduled to go on sale in May 2010 gives motorists everywhere a taste of services awaiting them around the corner. Information for all of France will be accessible through a total of 22 matrix codes, 21 of which focus on specific cities and one for the whole country.

Michelin poses the question: Why have to choose between a printed road map and a digital information device that is updated in real time? The company is of the opinion that such an either/or decision is now obsolete. “With the invention of the interactive road map, Michelin has brought the printed map into the age of real-time information,” the company states. “The key to this innovative offering is the data matrix code, a two-dimensional matrix barcode that can be accessed by smartphones.”

To access the service, iPhone users need to install one of two free applications – MobileTag or ViaMichelin. Then, once the application has been launched and the city of destination has been chosen, users simply take a picture of the matrix code using the iPhone’s camera and ViaMichelin real-time traffic information appears on the screen. They can then zoom in on the chosen area or scan the road network using the phone’s touchscreen.

This new traffic information map, on sale May 3 at a price of €6.95, is not intended to replace the printed map. As Michelin explains, the new product demonstrates the complementary nature of the company’s map resources – motorists can now combine the easy readability of a printed map for route planning with mobile phone access to ViaMichelin’s real-time traffic data. The result, Michelin adds, is an invaluable mobility enhancer for travellers, enabling them to get around more easily and efficiently.

The release of Michelin’s real-time French traffic information map coincides with a key date in the company’s history: the 100th anniversary of the first Michelin road map. The first generation of 1:200,000-scale Michelin maps for French roads was launched in 1910.