Any of you ever hear of this? I caught this on Digg and was fascinated!

Source: msnbc.com

63-year-old solves riddle from 1970

A mathematical puzzle that baffled the top minds in the esoteric field of symbolic dynamics for nearly four decades has been cracked — by a 63-year-old immigrant who once had to work as a security guard.

The conjecture essentially assumed it's possible to create a "universal map" that can direct people to arrive at a certain destination, at the same time, regardless of starting point. Experts say the proposition could have real-life applications in mapping and computer science.
I wish I knew more about the Road Coloring Problem. I looked on Wikipedia and there is an article, but not being a mathematician, it went over my head.

In the real world, this phenomenon would be as if you called a friend to ask for directions to his house, and he gave you a set of directions that worked no matter where you started from.
Any of you know how the solution to the problem might have applications to mapping?