Smart technologies for traffic are a delicately integrated web of processes that help transport personnel, drivers, and commuters regulate the flow and efficiency of traffic. Making use of advanced IoT devices, sensors routers, sensors and cellular technology intelligent traffic systems are able to modify control mechanisms in a dynamic manner, such as traffic lights, freeway on-ramp meters bus rapid transit lanes, highway message boards, and even speed limits. They also aid in forecasting shifts in traffic demands and provide a variety of live information to road users.
An excellent example is the adaptive traffic signal system in Pittsburgh. When Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) professor Stephen Smith installed his first few experimental traffic signals in a crowded area of the city’s East Liberty, he saw immediate results: drivers traveled 25 percent faster and spent 40 percent less time in traffic jams than they had before.
The system works by collecting data from sensors which monitor the flow of traffic and altering their timing on the fly, as well as spotting pedestrians at intersections, and giving them time to traverse the street. Sensors then send their raw data to a central location where it’s processed by artificial intelligence and then sent back to the intersections via 5G-enabled mobile networks.
These systems can provide better and more accurate modeling of scenarios that reduce risks, which humans cannot accomplish. And all of this is in real-time. This is a major step towards Vision Zero, the goal of safe road-driving where motorists and pedestrians are able to share the road without collision.
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