What products are on the market today or are expected?

Intelligent Transportation Systems represent new ways of networking and applying a wide range of technologies. These systems represent modifications to the transportation infrastructure that are less likely to result in specific consumer goods. However, ITS will impact the way the infrastructure functions, by making more and better information available to travelers and state transportation officials.

One area where an application of ITS technology has contributed to the transportation infrastructure is in the use of global positioning system (GPS) technology by the Highway Congestion Monitoring Program. Once a year, the Highway Congestion Monitoring Program (HICOMP) of the California Department of Transportation issues a report on congestion levels for almost 2,300 miles of the state's most heavily traveled freeways. Much of the data is gathered by probe vehicles, which traditionally have used tachyometers hard-wired into specific vehicles and requiring manual calibration. In 2006, CalTrans began replacing the tachyometers with GPS units, which are more accurate, automatically upload data to a central system, and can be moved from vehicle to vehicle. The resulting system is more efficient and accurate.