Smart technologies for traffic are a delicately integrated web of processes that help transport personnel, 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 utilize advanced IoT hardware and routers, cellular technology and cell networks. They also can forecast changes in traffic demand, and provide real-time information for road users.
An excellent example is the adaptive traffic signal system in Pittsburgh. Stephen Smith, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU), installed his first traffic signals to a heavily congested area of East Liberty in the city. Smith saw immediate results. Drivers drove 25 percent more efficiently and spent 40 percent less idling.
The system is able to collect data from sensors that track the flow of traffic and adjust their timing on the fly. It also detects pedestrians near intersections, and gives them enough time to safely cross the https://technologytraffic.com/2022/07/25/start-using-a-virtual-data-room-today-to-save-time-money street. Sensors send their raw data into a central hub which is then processed by artificial intelligence. The data is then transmitted back to the intersections through 5G-enabled cell networks.
These intelligent systems also allow for better, more accurate simulation of risk-minimizing scenarios that a human traffic controller could not accomplish – and all in real-time. This is a significant step toward Vision Zero, a goal of a safe, accident-free road in which humans and vehicles share the road without collisions.