AI Traffic Lights

Traffic lights fitted with artificial intelligence expected to ease congestion in major British cities.

08:06 19 May 2017

Milton Keynes has announced its plans to use traffic lights fitted with artificial intelligence in a bid to ease congestion. The traffic lights can detect where there is heavy concentration of vehicles and alter their pattern accordingly. The £3million project is scheduled to start by September 2018.

 

Yang Lu, chief technology officer at Vivacity Labs, said: "There is very limited intelligence to the current management of urban roads. Traffic lights are sequenced but rarely reactive to the levels of traffic around them. Traffic monitoring is still done manually,"

 

Vivacity Labs will start installing AI-powered traffic cameras around the city to update manual systems that are currently being used. The sensors, which will cover 50 square miles, will help traffic lights prioritise ambulances, buses, and cyclists to prevent bottlenecks.

 

"The AI camera accurately identifies and reports road usage, removing the need for cumbersome manual interpretation and significantly reducing the potential for human error,"

 

"It can improve traffic today as it can be linked with existing management systems to keep vulnerable road users, such as cyclists, safe by giving priority at lights, or alter signs to direct traffic away from congestion," said Yu.