What is Collaborative Routing?

Collaborative Routing, also known as load-distributed routing, is an innovative approach in the field of navigation and traffic telematics.

It is a method where traffic information (road closures, current and expected traffic conditions for road sections) is exchanged in real-time between users and a central platform to calculate optimal routes for all participating vehicles.

This approach, implemented in the NUNAV Navigation system by Graphmasters, is based on the collaboration of users – a kind of "NUNAV Community", where everyone receives constantly updated routes to avoid traffic jams and traffic problems.

All users receive an optimal route, ensuring no traffic peaks occur.

Collaborative Routing is an active and NOT a reactive traffic management tool.

Main features of Collaborative Routing:

1. Real-time data flow

• Users continuously transmit traffic information to a central data platform. This includes speed, position, road closures, or construction sites. The platform processes this data to capture traffic conditions and adjust optimal routes for all users – without a bonus-malus system, as is usually the case.

2. Dynamic adjustment

• Instead of rigidly maintaining a once-calculated route, Collaborative Routing dynamically adjusts routes based on current traffic conditions. For example, if an unexpected traffic peak or delay occurs at an intersection, the system calculates a new route to maintain traffic flow. The goal is to optimize both individual travel times and the overall utilization of the traffic network.

3. Avoidance of traffic jams through distribution

• The system distributes traffic to minimize congestion. This "load-distributed routing" prevents "loop traffic jams" by intelligently distributing vehicles across different routes, so not everyone takes the same path.

4. Better use of road infrastructure

• By dynamically distributing vehicles, roads are better utilized. Trucks use wide, suitable roads for them, while cars avoid shortcuts through residential streets or 30 zones. Empty roads are utilized, and overloaded ones are relieved, improving overall traffic flow.

5. Traffic participants as "sensors"

• All vehicles in Collaborative Routing act as traffic sensors. Their movement data enables real-time traffic condition detection, allowing quick responses to unforeseen events such as accidents, construction sites, or weather changes.

6. Collaborative platform

• The collected traffic information comes not only from vehicles but also from urban traffic centers, weather services, and other relevant sources to provide a more comprehensive assessment of traffic conditions and disruptions.

Advantages of Collaborative Routing:

Reduction of travel times:

• Optimized routes reduce travel times and fuel consumption.

Less traffic congestion:

• Better traffic distribution ensures efficient road use and proactive congestion avoidance.

Environmental friendliness:

• Emissions are reduced through optimized routes and traffic flow.

Better reliability of arrival times:

• More stable travel times enable more reliable arrival planning.

NUNAV, developed by Graphmasters, implements the concept of Collaborative Routing as an active navigation system. It evenly distributes traffic across the entire road network and uses swarm intelligence, where each user receives an individual route that considers their preferences as well as current and expected traffic conditions. The routes are updated several times per minute to ensure the optimal route at all times.

The app contributes to reducing CO₂ emissions by minimizing unnecessary delays and improving traffic flow.

NUNAV is available in Europe and the United Kingdom, free of charge, ad-free, and usable without registration.

The app can be downloaded from the App Store for iOS devices and the Google Play Store for Android devices.

Through NUNAV, both individual drivers and cities and municipalities benefit from more efficient traffic management, improving overall mobility.

For a visual explanation of Collaborative Routing with NUNAV, you can watch this video: