Taking GPS to the next level – MIT researchers building app to estimate more accurate travel times

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Most drivers find navigation apps like Waze and Google Maps essential when they hit the road.

Two researchers at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology believe these apps are only giving drivers half of the information they need to make sure they arrive at their destination on time.

Associate professor Cathy Wu, Ph.D., and Ph.D. candidate Cameron Hickert are at the school’s Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems.

Wu says drivers are not getting a full picture of their entire journey because the current apps don’t include any parking data.

Their prototype figures out the probability of finding parking at multiple locations near the driver’s destination.

“What we can do is figure out if you’re best off trying this parking lot first, even if it’s farther than the closest parking lot,” explained Wu. “Because of the likelihood of availability, let’s take a shot there first.”

They then factor in the walking time from the parking facility with the highest probability and calculate the time of a person’s total journey.

They built their prototype with data from Seattle, Washington and gave Boston 25 News a demonstration if someone is travelling from Kerry Park, which is a residential area, to Pike Place, which is a popular location downtown.

The app is called a parking aware navigation system.

They found that if a driver simply drove to the closest parking facility but had to wait for a space to become available their total travel time would be 60 minutes.

But if the person used a lot a little further away with more spaces available and walked, the total time drops to 26 minutes.

The developers also compare vehicular travel to taking transit or riding a bike.

“We hope that this can help people make better decisions,” explained Hickert.

The environment also benefits with fewer cars circling as drivers look for parking.

“That’s just extra emissions,” said Wu. “It’s not just extra emission, it’s extra congestion, which means that all the other vehicles on the roads are also spending more time on the road. So that’s a direct impact.”

The researchers use current mapping technology and enhance it with the parking and walking data.

Once of their challenges before they roll the app out is finding a way to get more access to parking data, so drivers get high quality feedback from their trips.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2026 Cox Media Group