Finding the shortest distance between two points sounds easy enough, but computing that route takes too long and consumes too much computer memory. Researchers at Microsoft Corp. are tackling the problem so that, in the next few years, computers can map the fastest route as well as make fast adjustments for road work or traffic jams, said Michael Schroeder, assistant director of Microsoft Research's Silicon Valley lab here. It comes down to developing a better mapping algorithm, one efficient enough to do massive computations in the palm of someone's hand.
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