Smart Technologies for Traffic
Smart Technologies for Traffic
Smart technologies for traffic are a delicately interwoven network of processes that assist transportation personnel, drivers and commuters control the flow and efficiency of traffic. Utilizing advanced IoT sensors, hardware, routers and cellular technology intelligent traffic systems are able to modify control mechanisms in a dynamic manner, such as traffic lights as well as freeway on-ramp meters bus rapid transit lanes highway message boards and even speed limits. They also can forecast changes in traffic demand and provide in-real-time information to road users.
Pittsburgh’s adaptive traffic signal system is a great example. Stephen Smith, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU), installed his first traffic signals in a congested area of East Liberty in the city. He noticed immediate results. Drivers travelled 25 percent faster and spent 40 percent less time idling.
The system works by collecting data from sensors that track the flow of traffic and altering their timings in real-time and also detecting pedestrians at intersections and allowing them time to safely traverse the street. The sensors then send their raw data to a central center where it’s processed by artificial intelligent and then sent back to the intersections using 5G-enabled cellular networks.
These systems can also permit better, more accurate simulation of risk-minimizing scenarios that a human traffic manager would not be able to achieve and all in real time. This is an important step toward Vision Zero, a goal of a safe, accident-free road in which both vehicles and humans share the road without collisions.
