Australia’s first AI-powered traffic signal system will be implemented in Petrie, north of Brisbane.
The new system is expected to reduce delays and wait times, according to the Moreton Bay Council.
The old system of phased-based control dates to the 1980s and operates on a pre-determined sequence and grouping of traffic lights, prioritised on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis.
The next generation hardware instead runs on a ‘movement-based’ system and manages traffic without being tied to a pre-determined sequence or fixed grouping of lights.
Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery said Australia’s first trial promised to be a gamechanger for motorists and pedestrians.
“The technology effectively uses both AI and advanced algorithms to inform optimised traffic operations under a new traffic management approach,” Cr Flannery said.
“This means that higher traffic flows of vehicles including public transport, can be prioritised dynamically throughout the day.
“There is the potential to substantially reduce the time motorists spend unnecessarily sitting at red lights, which is often constrained by legacy traffic control methods, and this can be extremely frustrating especially when there are no cars in sight.”
The new traffic technology is being tested at the intersection of Moreton Parade and Paper Avenue in Petrie and will be implemented at the intersection later this year.
The Council will also install advanced vehicle detection sensor technology to collect data used to support traffic optimisation by classifying road user types (cars, trucks, pedestrians, cyclists) and predict traffic flow.
If the Petrie trial proves successful, the Council will then test the technology at a more complex intersection.
