Smart technologies for traffic are a delicately weaved web of processes that help transportation personnel, drivers and commuters regulate the flow and efficiency of traffic. Intelligent traffic systems can alter the mechanisms that control traffic, like traffic lights as well as freeway onramp meters, and bus rapid transit lanes. They also use advanced IoT routers and hardware that use cellular technology as well as cell networks. They also aid in forecasting shifts in traffic demand and offer a variety of real-time information to road users.
Pittsburgh’s adaptive traffic signal system is a great example. Stephen Smith, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU), installed his first experimental traffic signals in the heavily trafficked area of East Liberty in the city. The immediate results were evident. Drivers drove 25 percent faster and spent 40 percent less idling.
The system is able to collect information from sensors that monitor the flow of traffic and adjust their timings on the fly. It detects pedestrians at intersections and gives them enough time to cross the street safely. The sensors then transmit their raw data to a central location where it’s processed by www.technologytraffic.com/2022/08/12/best-data-rooms-providers-for-international-companies/ artificial intelligence and then distributed back to the intersections using 5G-enabled cellular networks.
These systems can provide more precise and accurate modeling of scenarios that minimize the risk, something that a human traffic manager cannot attain. And all of this is in real-time. This is a significant step towards Vision Zero, the goal of accident-free road driving where cars and human beings are able to travel together without colliding.