In order for the emergency services to arrive at their destination in a maximum of ten minutes, at the beginning of August, the local authorities of the city of Bad Hersfeld in Germany, implemented technology that uses artificial intelligence to to give priority passage to emergency services.
A navigation system combined with traffic light mechanisms
Funded with 2.28 million euros by the German regional state of Hesse, this project uses a set of traffic data updated in real time on the concentration of traffic in the city. The data is then used to identify emergencies. This system also makes it possible to calculate the shortest route that the emergency services should take. At first glance, the project does not seem more complex than a modern GPS system, but combined with the city’s traffic light system, the tool can not only draw the shortest route, but also control traffic lights. traffic to create reserved priority greenways.
Priority for rescue, traffic jams for the rest of the drivers
The city has established from the outset that this artificial intelligence which manages red lights, will only benefit emergency services, and not individuals who need to get somewhere in a limited time. On the contrary, the system will undoubtedly lead to traffic jams throughout the city, but the designers of the project are planning themselves, using complex artificial intelligence algorithms, the best way to revive traffic, thus eliminating traffic jams. .
The city explains that the firefighters will first test and evaluate the effectiveness of the tool. After this first experience in real conditions, it will study the possibility of integrating the automatic central control of traffic lights throughout the city. This solution is supported by Hesse’s Digital Minister Christina Senimos, who said: “Modern digital technologies can literally help save lives. Because every minute counts in rescue operations.“
Intelligent traffic lights to allow the passage of blind people
Also in Austria, this summer, a first traffic light controlled by artificial intelligence was installed near a school for the blind in the city of Linz, but this time to give automatic passage to pedestrians without them needing to touch a button. Using digital sensors, the technology detects passers-by, who are given the green light automatically. The tool is able to detect whether it is a slow pedestrian, a single individual or groups, which helps to know if the light should stay green for longer or shorter for pedestrians. “We are delighted that this modern facility improves the comfort and, above all, the safety of our students”said the director, Professor Irène Mühlbach, head of the public school center for auditory and visual education Michael Reitter in Linz.
Other examples of cities that have adopted traffic lights managed by artificial intelligence
As Cédric Villani mentions, other cities have already used these technologies to improve traffic flow. The city of Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom has equipped its traffic lights with cameras to adapt traffic regulation in real time, turning the light to red if many pedestrians are waiting. The city of Pittsburg, in the United States, uses a traffic control system with artificial intelligence, deployed at around 50 intersections, which has reduced waiting times at intersections by 50%. According to him, “traffic lights could also give priority to emergency vehicles.” However, he recalls that using such technology “supposes answering several questions beforehand, on data security, respect for privacy or even the ability of the City to make the citizen an actor in his mobility rather than a simple passive user of technologies that are beyond him .“