Smart technologies for traffic are a delicately integrated web of processes that help transportation personnel, drivers and commuters regulate the flow and efficiency of traffic. Intelligent traffic systems are able to adjust the mechanisms that control traffic, like traffic lights and freeway onramp meters as well as bus rapid transit lanes. They also make use of advanced IoT routers and hardware with cellular technology, as well as cellular networks. They can also forecast changes in traffic demand and provide real-time information to road users.
An excellent example is the adaptive traffic signal system in Pittsburgh. Stephen Smith, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) was the one who installed his modern traffic technologies by board room first experimental traffic signals in a congested area of East Liberty in the city. He saw immediate results. Drivers were able to travel 25 percent more efficiently and were able to drive 40 percent more efficiently.
The system is able to collect data from sensors that track traffic patterns and adjust their timings on the fly. It detects pedestrians at intersections, and gives them enough time to safely cross the street. The sensors then send their raw data to a central hub where it is processed by artificial intelligence and then dispatched back out to the intersections via 5G-enabled mobile networks.
These systems are also able to enable better, more precise modeling of risk-reducing scenarios that a human traffic planner could not achieve and all in real-time. This is a major step towards Vision Zero, the goal of safe road-driving where both vehicles and humans can share the road without colliding.