What is a smart intersection and how does 5G help?
The system of sensors, video-based detection, connected traffic signals, and remote monitoring capabilities, provided by traffic systems technology company Miovision, has been deployed across five intersections along a busy corridor in the heart of Detroit. Smart traffic technology from Miovision has already been deployed in over 40 percent of the intersections in Detroit and now San Diego is looking to do the same.
Continental and Panasonic are a few other companies in the smart intersections game.
Using the new AI technology, the intersections are able to sense and understand what’s happening on the roadways in real-time and trigger responses, such as:
- Traffic lights that can lengthen green lights to accommodate cyclists who wouldn’t otherwise be able to make it through the intersection
- Alerts that warn drivers of connected cars or Waze (connected app) users that jaywalkers are ahead
- Traffic lights that provide priority access to emergency and police vehicles
- Intersections that understand and analyze the near misses between users such as pedestrians in the crosswalk, cyclists, and drivers
- Traffic lights allow for freight vehicles to have green light priority, encouraging freight use on certain intersections away from pedestrian-heavy corridors.
- A faster network will also allow for autonomous driving in San Diego. Smart cars will rely on sensors around the city to pick up on someone running across the street or another car turning the corner.
Read more on the San Diego smart intersections project but unsure if this is being provided by Qualcomm.