A delicately woven together network of processes, smart technology for traffic assist transport employees commuters, drivers and drivers manage traffic flow and efficiency. Intelligent traffic systems can alter the controls of traffic lights as well as freeway onramp meters, and bus rapid transit lanes. They also use advanced IoT hardware and routers, cellular technology and wireless networks. They also assist in forecasting changes in traffic demand and provide a variety of live information to road users.
Pittsburgh’s adaptive traffic signal system is an excellent example. Stephen Smith, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU), installed his first traffic signals in the heavily congestion-ridden area of East Liberty in the city. The immediate results were evident. Drivers were able to travel 25 percent further and spent 40 percent less time in traffic.
The system works by collecting data from sensors which monitor incoming traffic and adjusting their timing on the fly, as well as spotting pedestrians at intersections and giving them the time to safely traverse the street. The sensors then transmit their raw data to traffic demand matrix a central center where it is processed by artificial intelligence and then distributed back to the intersections via 5G-enabled cell networks.
These systems can also provide better, more accurate simulation of risk-reducing scenarios that a human traffic controller could not achieve – all in real-time. This is a big step towards Vision Zero, a goal of safe driving where both vehicles and humans share the road without collisions.
