Smart technologies for traffic are a delicately woven web of processes that help transportation personnel, drivers and commuters control the flow and efficiency of traffic. Utilizing the latest IoT hardware, sensors routers, sensors and cellular technology smart traffic systems can automatically adjust control mechanisms such as traffic lights and freeway on-ramp meters bus rapid transit lanes, highway message boards and even speed limits. They can also help forecast changes in traffic demand and provide a range of real-time information to road users.
A good example is the adaptive traffic signal system in Pittsburgh. Stephen Smith, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) constructed his first experimental traffic signals in a congestion-ridden area of East Liberty in the city. The immediate results were evident. Drivers were able to travel 25 percent faster and spent 40 application of traffic engineering percent less time idling.
The system works by collecting data from sensors that monitor incoming traffic and adjusting their timings on the fly and also spotting pedestrians at intersections and giving them enough time to cross the street. The sensors transmit their raw data into 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 intelligent systems also provide better, more precise simulation of risk-reducing scenarios that a human traffic controller could not manage – and all in real-time. This is a significant step towards Vision Zero, a goal of a safe, accident-free road in which humans and vehicles share the road with no collisions.