A delicately woven together network of processes, smart technologies for traffic help transport personnel as well as commuters and drivers to improve efficiency and flow of traffic. Making use of advanced IoT hardware, sensors, routers and cellular technology smart traffic systems can automatically adjust control mechanisms such as traffic lights, freeway on-ramp meters, bus rapid transit lanes, highway message boards and even speed limits. They can also predict changes in traffic demand and provide real-time information for road users.
Pittsburgh’s adaptive traffic signal system is a perfect example. When Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) professor Stephen Smith installed his first few traffic signals for experimentation in a crowded area of the city’s East Liberty, he saw immediate results: Drivers travelled 25 percent faster and spent 40 percent less time in traffic jams than they had before.
The system collects information from sensors that are monitoring the traffic flow and adjust their timings in real-time in addition to spotting pedestrians at intersections and giving them the time to safely cross the street. Sensors then send their raw data to a central hub where it is processed by artificial intelligence and then sent back to the intersections using 5G-enabled mobile networks.
These systems are also able to permit better, more precise modeling of risk-minimizing scenarios that a human traffic manager could not achieve – and all in real-time. This is an important step towards Vision Zero, a goal of accident-free driving in which both vehicles and humans share the road without collisions.
Cidades atendidas |
São Paulo/SP |
Guarulhos/SP |