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For green satellite navigation

Ian Sample

LONDON: It could be the ideal gadget for easing the guilt of gas-guzzling motorists: a satellite navigation system that picks out the greenest route to drive, instead of the quickest or the shortest.

Where existing devices find the most direct or fastest route between two points, the new system plots the most fuel-efficient route by checking roads for traffic lights, junctions, speed limits and the tendency for traffic jams. Early tests suggest that taking more eco-friendly routes cut motorists' average fuel usage by 8.2 per cent.

The prototype was developed by Eva Ericsson and fellow researchers at the Lund Institute of Technology in Sweden. The team used a database holding details of 15,437 car trips around Lund to rank roads in terms of their fuel efficiency.

"The most efficient roads are often those where you can drive at a fairly slow, constant speed, without having to stop or suddenly accelerate or decelerate," Dr. Ericsson told New Scientist magazine.

The scientists believe that if digital maps of cities could be improved to include details of traffic behaviour, the system could make a considerable impact on vehicle greenhouse gas emissions. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2007

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