Smart Technologies for Traffic

Smart technologies for traffic are a delicately woven web of processes that help transport workers, drivers, and commuters control the flow and efficiency of traffic. Making use of advanced IoT devices, sensors routers, sensors and cellular technology intelligent traffic systems adapt control mechanisms dynamically, like traffic lights as well as freeway on-ramp meters bus rapid transit lanes highway message boards and even speed limits. They also assist in forecasting shifts in traffic demands and provide a range of real-time information to road users.

An excellent example is the adaptive traffic signal system in Pittsburgh. When Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) professor Stephen Smith installed his first few experimental traffic signals in technologytraffic.com/2020/05/21/the-benefits-of-using-modern-traffic-technologies-by-data-room/ a crowded area of the city’s East Liberty, he saw immediate results: Drivers traveled 25 percent further and spent 40 percent less time in traffic jams than before.

The system collects information from sensors that monitor the traffic flow and adjust their timing on the fly. It also detects pedestrians near intersections, and gives them enough time to cross the street safely. The sensors transmit their raw data into an centralized hub, where it is processed by artificial intelligence. It is then sent back to the intersections by 5G-enabled cell networks.

These systems are also able to allow for better, more accurate modeling of risk-reducing scenarios that a human traffic supervisor could not achieve and all in real-time. This is a significant step towards Vision Zero, a goal of safe and secure driving in which cars and human beings share the road with no collisions.