Artificial intelligence is proving effective in managing traffic flow and reducing the “shockwaves” that cause highways to gum up.
An experiment on a 27km section of the I-24 freeway near Nashville, Tennessee in the United States, is giving insights into how traffic flow might be managed in the future.
The research followed clear evidence from previous research that humans were not particularly good at navigating dense traffic.
This created “shockwaves” on the roadway as cars braked harder as traffic congestion grew and this could lead to sudden gridlock and crashes
In 2010, researchers in Japan put 20 human drivers on a circular track and asked them to drive at a constant speed. Relatively quickly the traffic went from clearly flowing to stop-start.
According to NewScientist, the Nashville experiment, which has been running using unaided artificial intelligence since March this year, is producing positive results that project managers described as “transformational” for traffic management.
Other smart systems that adjust speed limits according to traffic volume are common in several countries. but these involve human operators.
The Nashville model is believed to be the first relying entirely on AI.
