08 Ott Smart Technologies for Traffic
Smart technologies for traffic are a delicately woven Learn More Here web of processes that help transport workers, drivers, and commuters manage the flow and efficiency of traffic. Intelligent traffic systems can alter control mechanisms such as traffic lights, freeway onramp meters and bus rapid transit lanes. They also employ advanced IoT routers and hardware as well as cellular technology and wireless networks. They can also assist in forecasting changes in traffic demand and provide a variety of real-time information to road users.
A good 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 the heavily congested area of the city’s East Liberty, he saw immediate results. Drivers drove 25 percent farther and spent 40 percent less time idling in traffic jams than before.
The system works by collecting data from sensors which monitor incoming traffic and adjusting their timing on the fly, as well as identifying pedestrians near intersections and allowing them time to walk across the street. Sensors send their raw data into the central hub, which is then processed by artificial intelligence. The data is then transmitted back to the intersections via 5G-enabled cell networks.
These systems are also able to provide better, more accurate modeling of risk-minimizing scenarios that a human traffic manager could not manage – all in real-time. This is a big step towards Vision Zero, a goal of safe driving where humans and vehicles share the road with no collisions.
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