A delicately woven together network of processes, smart technology for traffic aid transport personnel, drivers and commuters improve efficiency and flow of traffic. Intelligent traffic systems can adjust the controls of traffic lights and onramp meters for freeways as well as bus rapid transit lanes. They also use advanced IoT hardware and routers as well as cellular technology and wireless networks. They also aid in forecasting shifts in traffic demand, and offer a variety of real-time information to road users.
Pittsburgh’s adaptive traffic signal system is an excellent example. When Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) professor Stephen Smith installed his first few experimental traffic signals in a heavily congested area of the city’s East Liberty, he saw immediate results: drivers traveled 25 percent more efficiently and spent 40 percent less time idling in traffic jams than they had before.
The system works by collecting data from sensors which monitor the traffic flow and adjust their timings on the fly. It detects pedestrians at intersections and gives them enough time to safely cross the street. The sensors then send their raw data to a central hub, where it’s processed by artificial intelligent and then dispatched back out to the intersections via 5G-enabled cellular networks.
These systems are also able to permit better, more precise simulation of risk-minimizing scenarios that a human traffic supervisor could not achieve – all in real-time. This is a significant step towards Vision Zero, the goal of a safe road that ensures motorists and pedestrians can travel together without collision.
