Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered traffic lights will be trialled in Manchester to assess whether they can efficiently reduce pollution and congestion as part of a £30m investment in 5G technology.
The project plans to use intelligent sensors to detect speed, path, journey time and queuing data for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians travelling along the city’s roads.
The sensors, running AI software to collect road data in real-time, will be installed on each junction approach, using 5G technology to send their findings to the cloud for analysis.
This data is fed into yet more AI which controls the traffic lights, helping road users to travel more safely and efficiently.
Greater Manchester has hosted smart traffic light trials for the past three years since the Government-backed body InnovateUK awarded the University of Huddersfield more than £850,000 to develop a system in 2017.
