Smart phone app helps cut fuel use at red lights

Washington, Sept 13 (ANI): A smart phone app that's being tested by researchers at Princeton and MIT is set to help lessen a car's fuel consumption while at the red light.

Signal Guru, which can show drivers how fast or slow they can go to avoid stopping at the next red light, is geared towards fuel efficiency and lessening traffic congestion, Discovery News reported.

According to the researchers, if drivers avoid idling at red lights, fuel use is cut by 20 percent.

When the smart phone is mounted on the dash, the app uses the phone's ability to connect to others who are also running it, as well as the camera, to keep track of signals.

Researchers tested the app in Cambridge, Mass., where fixed schedules are used, and in Singapore, where signals adapt to traffic volume.

The fixed schedule tests were off by two-thirds, and the adapting tests were one to two seconds away from complete accuracy.

As long as people use the app for its intended purposes, this app and others like it, when released for commercial use, could help lessen energy consumption. (ANI)