A delicately interwoven system of processes, smart technologies for traffic can help transport workers motorists, commuters and drivers manage traffic flow and efficiency. Utilizing advanced IoT hardware, sensors routers, cellular technology, and sensors 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 assist in forecasting shifts in traffic demands 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) constructed his first traffic signals in the heavily congested part of East Liberty in the city. He noticed immediate results. Drivers drove 25 percent further and spent 40 percent less time in traffic.
The system collects data from sensors which monitor the flow of traffic and altering their timings on the fly in addition to detecting pedestrians in intersections and giving them the time to cross the street. The sensors transmit their raw data into the central hub, which is then processed by artificial intelligence. It is then sent back to the intersections through 5G-enabled cell networks.
These advanced systems permit more accurate and precise modeling of scenarios that reduce risk, which humans cannot achieve. And all this in real-time. This is a big step toward Vision Zero, a goal of a safe, accident-free road in which humans and vehicles share the road without collisions.
