TRAFFIC cameras of the future will be able to help business travellers plan their journeys to avoid traffic congestion. Live pictures of traffic on the M5/M6 motorway junction were beamed from the RAC's Walsall Supercentre to this week's Autotech '97 exhibition at Birmingham's NEC.

A Texas Instruments' digital video camera, positioned at the RAC's Command and Control Centre will provided the latest views of the regularly congested junction. Using BT's ISDN technology, the pictures were sent instantly to a video conferencing computer on the Jaguar 'Partnership in Technology' stand.

The test was conducted to show how traffic cameras of the future will be able to help travellers plan their journeys before they set off.