technologytraffic.com/2021/07/08/generated-post/
Smart technologies for traffic are a delicately interwoven network of processes that help transportation personnel, drivers and commuters manage the flow and efficiency of traffic. Intelligent traffic systems are able to adjust control mechanisms such as traffic lights and onramp meters for freeways as well as bus rapid transit lanes. They also use advanced IoT routers and hardware that use cellular technology as well as cell networks. They can also help forecast changes in traffic demand and provide 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) He installed his first experimental traffic signals in a trafficked area of East Liberty in the city. Smith saw immediate results. Drivers traveled 25 percent farther and spent 40 percent less idling.
The system is able to collect data from sensors that monitor the flow of traffic and adjust their timing on-the-fly. It detects pedestrians at intersections and gives them enough time to cross the street safely. The sensors then send their raw data to a central hub where it’s processed by artificial intelligent and then dispatched back out to the intersections via 5G-enabled cell networks.
These systems are also able to enable better, more precise simulation of risk-reducing scenarios that a human traffic planner would not be able to achieve and all in real-time. This is a major step toward Vision Zero, a goal of a safe, accident-free road in which cars and human beings share the road without collisions.
