L’Artificial intelligence it seems destined to arrive on our roads too.
This could happen soon thanks to the project Green Light Of Google which aims to reduce the waiting times at traffic lights.
This technology has been successfully tested in 14 cities, with advantages from several points of view. By optimizing timing, in fact, it is possible to save time, fuel consumption and, consequently, reduce pollution. It should be underlined that the urban centers in question are certainly not small rural centers: Green Light, in fact, has demonstrated its ad potential Abu Dhabi, Hamburg, Seattle e Calcutta.
The idea that pushed the Mountain View company to work on Green Light is simple. According to research carried out in 2021 by the company InrixAmerican citizens spend the 10% of their car journeys waiting for the fateful green light.
Green Light is the result of the work of Google Researchwhich combines AI with data provided by Google Mapsall to change the timing of the traffic lights and encourage the smoothest possible movement of the cars.
Google’s Green Light has a disadvantage that should not be underestimated: high costs
The results obtained from the first tests on the 14 aforementioned cities are more than appreciable. In fact, the application of Green Light has reduced by 30% parking times at a red light.
If the classic traffic light works according to fixed patterns and timing, this new technology paves the way for “dynamic traffic lights“, which adapts to historical data and data obtained in real time.
What may be holding back Green Light’s debut, however, are the costs that are currently unaffordable. In large cities, in fact, installing this sort of smart traffic lights could cost tens of thousands of euros. To this must be added the maintenance costs, which are anything but to be underestimated. Overall, the project still seems to be a success, so much so that in 2024 this new technology should be offered in several new cities.