EnLighten App From BMW Shows You How Long The Light Will Stay Red

All drivers can relate to the annoyance of a stop light that stays red way longer than you feel like it should. We naturally progress from annoyance at when the light will change to some level of being convinced that the light has stopped working correctly and we will never get to go. BMW has created an app that works in a few cities and will display on the infotainment screen in its cars.

The app is called EnLighten and its sole purpose is to show you when a light is going to change. The idea is that if you know how long the light will remain red, you can turn the car off to save fuel and reduce emissions. BMW also figures that if you know how long the light will be green you can avoid accelerating hard in an attempt to avoid stopping.

The EnLighten app is available in standalone form for iOS and Android devices. The iOS version integrates with the iDrive screen. The iDrive screen will show the information on the closest light along with a real time prediction for when the light will change. The iOS app that works with the iDrive screen supports Portland and Eugene, Oregon along with Salt Lake City.

The stand-alone app that doesn't support the screen will work for lights in Las Vegas, Arcadia and Walnut Creek California, and Christchurch, New Zealand. BMW plans to make the app work in more cities in the future. This is one feature that I would like to see for all cities in the US. For now, the app covers 2000 traffic lights.

SOURCE: ArsTechnica and BMW