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February 8, 2013 By News Staff
Answer: virtual traffic lights
According to Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist Ozan Tonguz, getting rid of all the physical traffic lights could be the future of urban transportation, The Atlantic Cities reported.
Tonguz and colleagues are working on a virtual traffic lights system that's based on emerging vehicle-to-vehicle technology. The idea, according to The Atlantic Cities, "is to shift traffic control from fixed street signals to the moving cars themselves."
Tonguz says the result is an optimized traffic flow that should greatly reduce city congestion.
How would virtual traffic lights work? As a driver approaches an intersection, the car transmits data, such as location and speed, to other nearby cars. "The virtual system processes this information for all the cars in the area, with the help of a lead car that changes every cycle, and determines your individual traffic signal," The Atlantic Cities reported. "Instead of seeing a red or green light hanging in the intersection, you see it on your windshield and stop or go accordingly."
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Cool idea. Until there is a major power grid outage. How can the central processing system that the information is transmitted to and the relays be guaranteed continuous power? I am not saying I don't like the idea, but drivers are distracted enough (cell phones, texting, videos, etc.) thatt his could be one more item where the driver could be falsely made to feel secure and be inattentive to driving thinking the technology will alert them in enough time. Now if it could apply the brakes on red, that would be worth it.
Well.. apply the brakes on red.. and when the power fails! No power no movement.. where is my horse?
I think the power grid failure will affect the traffic lights as well. What I would be more concerned about is people who think like computers designing a system for people who don't think. Every day I see some fool racing 20 miles an hour over the limit (or more) as well as running lights. Some barely slow down for stop signs, and when you're in Raleigh, run as fast as you can in the cross-walk- half the drivers won't be stopping for you. So, better think about people behavior before you start programming.
And just how many pedestrians will be sacrificed before we realize that this is a dumb idea?
How much will car prices go up for this technology? What about the people with old cars that won't communicate with traffic, are they ignored?
I-ROBOT
"Instead of seeing a red or green light hanging in the intersection, you see it on your windshield and stop or go accordingly." This technological advancement sounds great but a great deal of time and cost will be needed to prepare the public prior to implementing. Where I think the young might take to this change rather quickly, this old trifocal driver with cataracts will definitely have a come to Jesus moment if I start seeing lights flashing on my windshield.
sounds like a small part of an advanced traffic control system with self-driving cars (currently being experimented with). In fact, you can actually see a preview of of these ultimate traffic systems by watching the old Sylvester Stallone movie, Demolition Man, with cars that can switch between self and manual drive. However, missing an Emergency Control system that can predict and take control to avoid accidents just so they could pry Sly out of a futuristic police car encased in instant foam.
So what happens when you run a virtual red light?