technologytraffic.com/2021/07/08/generated-post-2/

Smart technologies for traffic are a delicately woven system of processes that aid transport workers, drivers, and commuters control the flow and efficiency of traffic. Making use of advanced IoT hardware, sensors routers, sensors and cellular technology intelligent traffic systems are able to modify control mechanisms in a dynamic manner, such as traffic lights and freeway on-ramp meters bus rapid transit lanes highway message boards, and even speed limits. They can also help forecast shifts in traffic demand, and provide a variety of live information to road users.

A good example is the traffic signal system that is adaptive in Pittsburgh. When Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) professor Stephen Smith installed his first few traffic signals that were experimental in a highly congested part 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 are monitoring the traffic coming in and then adjusting their timing in real-time, as well as detecting pedestrians at intersections, and giving them time to cross the street. Sensors send their raw data to a central hub, which is then processed by artificial intelligence. The data is then transmitted back to the intersections using 5G-enabled cell networks.

These advanced systems also enable better, more accurate modeling of risk-reducing scenarios that a human traffic controller would not be able to achieve – all in real-time. This is a significant step towards Vision Zero, the goal of a safe road that ensures cars and human beings are able to share the road without colliding.