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Artificial Intelligence Will Decide Who Gets a Green Light in Greater Manchester

Transport for Greater Manchester, or TfGM, has recently announced a new effort to improve the traffic flow in the region with the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI).
AI will decide who gets the green light 1 photo
Photo: altago.com
New AI-powered sensors developed by Vivacity Labs will be installed in several intersections, all with the purpose of detecting the active travel modes and turn the light to green depending on the traffic flow.

More specifically, the local authorities have noticed that the global health issue has significantly changed the way people travel, and cycling and walking have both recorded a huge spike since March this year. As a result, the new AI-powered system is supposed to favor the traffic flow, thus making it easier and faster for people to cross an intersection regardless of the travel mode they use.

However, the focus will be on people on foot or bike, as the authorities want to encourage active travel that doesn’t depend on cars.

In other words, if the system detects there are many bicycles waiting for the green light but only one car is approaching an intersection, the AI automatically turns the light red for the vehicle and lets the cyclists go through the junction. The same for those who are traveling by foot, as the purpose here is to reduce the time they typically wait for the green light no matter how they travel.

The system has already been installed in three junctions, but TfGM wants to bring it to 20 more locations by the end of the next year as part of a broader rollout across the region.

And the local authorities hope that artificial intelligence would help not only improve the traffic flow regardless of the means of transportation but also reduce the emissions, as cars would theoretically have to spend less time waiting for the traffic light to turn green.

The AI-powered system keeping an eye on junctions will collect public data anonymously, all with the purpose of estimating traffic flows and determining who needs the green light.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
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Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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