Smart technologies for traffic are a delicately weaved network of processes that assist transport personnel, drivers, and commuters control the flow and efficiency of traffic. Using advanced IoT devices, sensors routers, sensors and cellular technology smart traffic systems can dynamically adjust control mechanisms like traffic lights and freeway on-ramp meters bus rapid transit lanes, highway message boards, and even speed limits. They can also help forecast shifts in traffic demand and provide a variety of real-time information to road users.
Pittsburgh’s adaptive traffic signal system is a good 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 travelled 25 percent further and spent 40 percent less time idling in traffic jams than they had before.
The system works by collecting information from sensors that are monitoring the traffic coming in and then adjusting their timings in real-time in addition to detecting pedestrians at intersections and giving them enough time to safely cross the street. The sensors transmit their raw data to a central hub where it is processed by artificial intelligence. The data is then transmitted back to the intersections using 5G-enabled cell networks.
These systems can provide more precise and accurate modeling of scenarios that reduce the risk, something that a human traffic manager cannot accomplish. All this in real-time. This is a significant step towards Vision Zero, the goal of accident-free road driving where humans and vehicles are able to share the road without collision.
