By Dan Rafter

On Mike Fritsch's highway of the future, cars will warn each other about traffic jams. Tractor trailers will instantly notify the highway department about dangerous ice patches. And windshield sensors will track weather developments in real time.

As it turns out, all this may not be too far off. Fritsch, the president of Zoom Information Systems in Fort Wayne, Ind., has been working since early 2004 on developing the Real-Time Transportation Infrastructure Information System. The five-employee outfit's goal is to allow vehicles traveling across the country to relay information on road conditions, weather problems, traffic jams, and route closures to state transportation departments and trucking businesses, as well as to other cars.

"It won't be information that's delayed a half-hour or 15 minutes from a traffic helicopter," Fritsch says. "This will be a real-time view of where the backups are and exactly what the problems are."

SORTING DATA.  The key to Zoom's system is sensors mounted on vehicles, which would beam information to state and regional data centers through satellite systems. Motorists would then receive constantly updated info based on events happening in real time. For example, sensors from a car's shock absorbers may transmit data to highway officials that a serious pothole has emerged.

Zoom is currently fine-tuning software that will analyze this data and, as Fritsch puts it, "put it in different buckets" depending on type. The outfit's own computers would send weather-related data -- gathered by, say, sensors on a vehicle's windshields -- to weather bureaus' PCs. Similarly, brake sensors could generate information on growing traffic jams that could be relayed to motorists.

Outfitting tens of millions of cars with such sensors is a huge proposition -- which is why it isn't part of Zoom's plan. Manufacturers may one day start installing such devices on all their cars and trucks, but in the meantime, Fritsch estimates that his business needs only about 4% of vehicles on the road to ensure reliable road data.

POWERFUL PARTNER.  Zoom's system isn't on the market yet, but Fritsch plans to start selling his technology to transportation departments by the end of 2005. And he has reason to be optimistic. Zoom has been invited to speak about its project during the Transportation Research Board's annual meeting -- a major coup for such a young company.

The small concern has also attracted a big partner in the transportation project: Boeing (BA ). The aircraft behemoth is working on the satellite end of the initiative. Once the Transportation Infrastructure Information project is up and running, vehicles will transmit their data to satellites, which will then send the info to collection centers across the country.

Boeing benefits from increased use of its existing satellites, while Zoom gains from a name-brand partner and the technology help it offers. When meeting with large potential customers, Fritsch says, "the name Boeing carries a lot of clout."

CHANGING SIGNALS.  The U.S. Transportation Dept. has already adopted its own Intelligent Transportation Systems program. Widespread use of sensors that warn drivers if other cars are too close to allow a safe lane change could help reduce such accidents, estimated at 2.6 million each year, by 17%, the department contends.

"It's not like all of a sudden 10 or 20 years from now, we're going to drop in all this technology and everyone will see it," says Mark Norman, director of technical activities for the Transportation Research Board. "It has been around for a while, and it will continue to grow and evolve."

Intelligent Transportation Systems are evident in traffic signals that switch from red to green faster or slower depending on the amount of traffic building up at an intersection. The technology is visible also in the message signs that line highways and warn motorists of upcoming delays or road closures. As the sensor technology improves, Norman sees an increasing number of applications -- and potential for startups like Zoom. "The sky is the limit," he says.

HOOSIER FUNDS.  Fritsch, who ran a technology consultancy before founding Zoom, has been interested in real-time communication applications for more than a decade. But it wasn't until this year that he was able to make Zoom a reality. Because the technology was largely unknown, convincing investors to sign on was a significant hurdle.

He finally found support from the state of Indiana. Last year, Zoom nabbed a $1.5 million Indiana 21st Century Research & Technology Fund grant, which provides funds to innovative companies in the Hoosier State.

"You have to show them that what you have is a good idea and has a good chance of happening," Fritsch says. "We were able to show the state that we could sell this product to several different industries."

DOWN THE ROAD.  Besides transportation departments, Zoom's technology could also benefit businesses that need to know where their shipments are and the most efficient routes to their customers, as well as other concerns directly affected by the weather.

However, Zoom must deal with the challenge that until enough vehicles are outfitted with sensors, the technology's full benefits won't be seen. To overcome this, Fritsch incessantly promotes his system's multiple uses and how the scheme can save companies and government agencies money over the long haul. If potholes are identified in their early stages, the pitch goes, road crews can repair them before they grow larger, ultimately saving on maintenance costs.

"The hardest part about getting something like this in place is that in almost all markets today, people are looking for an immediate return on their investment," Fritsch says. "It's hard to sell something that will pay off in five years. If people are paying a couple million dollars for a system, they want to know it will save them twice that immediately." The road to the future, it seems, is never smooth.

Rafter is a business and technology writer based in Chesterton, Ind.