ALK Technologies, Inc., Princeton, N.J., announced that its advanced CoPilot Live navigation solution for Pocket PC, laptop or Tablet PC system will deliver real-time traffic and incident information to drivers in the state of Minnesota.

The latest CoPilot uses real-time data from the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
ALK’s CoPilot is GPS connected software that provides spoken, door-to-door directions on a laptop or handheld computer. CoPilot Live will automatically alert the driver of traffic incidents on a current route and instantly plot a new route around the congestion.
"What ALK does is continuously harvest and reprocess real-time traffic and road condition data for CoPilot users," said ALK chairman, Alain Kornhauser related. "Anywhere in Minnesota, CoPilot will know the traffic conditions, minimizing hassles. This development is clearly a model for other states to follow in the future."
Kornhauser also stated, "The State of Minnesota is setting an example by capturing real-time traffic and incident data and making it available in a standard XML format. Public funds paid for this information infrastructure. Making it broadly available to help make better transportation decisions is a real public service."
Ginny Crowson, Traveler Information Program Manager with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, reported that the data being used by CoPilot comes from the Condition Acquisition and Reporting System (CARS) in place in Minnesota. Sources of real-time traffic and incident information for the statewide traveler database include more than 300 DOT and state patrol staff who regularly input construction, road condition, incident and special event information.
The CARS database also exists in nine other states, including Alaska, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Vermont and Washington. Including Minnesota, the ten states pooled funds to create the statewide reporting systems. Some states started using CARS four years ago while others came on board more recently. Currently, federal transportation funding legislation pending in Congress would require every state to have a similar reporting system within two years.