INRIX Creates Traffic News Apps

INRIX announced the availability of a turn-key set of applications for media that deliver traffic and travel news in less time and at significantly lower cost than traditional methods.

The INRIX Digital Media Suite provides reporters with a set of easy to use applications and traffic information content that goes beyond typical drive-time traffic conditions with real-time insight into traffic conditions on all major highways and local roads, alert audiences to the day’s current and expected traffic hotspots and expected travel times for key routes.

“This opens up a whole new market for traffic reporting,” said Nick Simmons, Vice President and General Manager of Media, INRIX. “For the first time, local broadcasters have access to turn-key, professional services that deliver valuable traffic insight and inventory with just a few clicks.”

The INRIX Digital Media Suite consists of a radio and a TV application offering journalists robust yet simple to use “drag and drop” traffic report creation and editing tools. By eliminating the time journalists waste scouring multiple sites with a service that provides a complete view of traffic conditions in one application, reporters can create their reports and broadcast breaking travel news in a matter of minutes. The Apps provide journalists with an intuitive Web-based interface that offers a comprehensive picture of local conditions including traffic speeds and travel times, detailed real-time traffic maps, alerts to delays caused by accidents and other incidents as well as real-time eyewitness reports from the station’s Twitter and Facebook community. Unlike legacy traffic systems requiring stations to buy expensive hardware that is extremely difficult to scale, INRIX TV and INRIX Radio can be activated immediately and scaled to connect with other devices, production facilities or desired coverage areas.

Specific INRIX Radio and INRIX TV App features include:

  • INRIX Radio: Designed exclusively for the radio broadcast industry, INRIX Radio is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that intelligently integrates both traffic incident and cause data to enable the production of customized traffic news stories for radio broadcasts. Once a station has an active INRIX Radio license, anyone at the station with a Web browser can use the tool to create traffic reports in real-time. The App’s intuitive script-generation tool offers the ability to view traffic over three live panels on one screen, view live incident updates and filter incidents according to preference. This dynamic approach, combined with the drag and drop interface, allows for easy reordering and refining as needed up until broadcast. INRIX Radio is available immediately in North America and Europe. Broadcasters can activate a free 30-day trial at www.INRIX.com/RadioTrial.
  • INRIX TV: Designed exclusively for television broadcasters, INRIX TV is a news gathering and reporting app for iPad that connects to any playout system to create visually compelling and highly accurate traffic news reports. Whether reporting from the studio or the scene of a major incident, INRIX TV provides reporters with immediate insight into not just what drivers can expect on the daily commute but the traffic impacts of a major storm, accident or sporting event. INRIX TV makes delivering the day’s traffic news as easy as creating an iMovie film – once reporters have built a report template within INRIX TV, content automatically populates, enabling them to create reports in a matter of minutes. The app includes direct output capabilities to mixing desks, as well as social components that help integrate eyewitness reports via social media directly into news broadcasts. Initially available in the U.S., U.K. and Canada via the Apple App Store, the company will launch the INRIX TV app in April at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, NV.

One Source for Accurate and Relevant Traffic Information

INRIX Digital Media Suite Apps are powered by traffic information content sourced from the INRIX Traffic Intelligence Platform which analyzes data from public and private sources ranging from government road sensors, official accident and incident reports to real-time traffic speeds crowd-sourced from community of approximately 100 million drivers. INRIX provides reporters with in-depth coverage of traffic conditions that extends beyond highways to city streets and other heavily travelled local roads. The INRIX Traffic Intelligence Platform accounts for common traffic-impacting factors, such as, the day of the week, the season, local holidays, current and forecasted weather, accidents and road construction to help ensure broadcasters provide their audience with time-saving insight they can rely on every day1.

INRIX Radio and INRIX TV joins the company’s existing set of services for broadcasters that includes traffic flow and incident services. INRIX will demonstrate the INRIX Digital Media Suite at Le Radio in Paris, Radio Days Europe in Berlin and NAB 2013 in Las Vegas. For more information, go to www.inrix.com/media.

Source:  INRIX Press Release, January 15, 2013.