this post was submitted on 25 Dec 2023
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I want AI to control traffic lights so that I don't sit stopped through an entire cycle as the only car in a 1 mile radius. Also, if there is just one more car in line, let the light stay green just a couple seconds longer. Imagine the gas and time that could be saved... and frustration.
That's already a thing, though it isn't AI driven. Many intersections have sensors that detect traffic and can change the lights quickly or let them stay green longer if you're approaching it. It's only getting more advanced as time goes on.
https://youtu.be/pTR3Cn5DnHY?si=nXtqHqVMsw47FmQZ
https://youtu.be/P_EmAKRrlBc?si=McCO_tE43FaPkRL9
As always, such systems need infrastructure investment to make them widespread.
You make it sound like the AI traffic lights will just magically download themselves onto the grid?
How do I make it sound like that? You first need to build traffic light and road infrastructure that can handle advanced traffic flow, along with the processing power to make decisions based on sensor readings and rules.
The software (AI is kinda overkill) exists to handle and optimise traffic flow over an entire city, but your software does not matter if there are insufficient sensors for the software to make decisions, or too few controllable lights to implement decisions (or both).
What they're saying is if money was adequately invested in infrastructure, these old systems would have been upgraded 10 or 20 years ago and AI would not be necessary at all.
Thank goodness. until every intersection becomes this intuitive, I will only continually notice the ones that hold me hostage through several cycles and /or don't even notice I'm there waiting at a red light for 5 minutes at 3am when I'm the only car there.
Doesn't need AI, and there are countries that already have a system in place with the same result. Unsurprisingly the places with more focus on pedestrian, cyclist, and public transit infrastructure have the most enjoyable driving experience. All the people that don't want to drive will stop as soon as it is safe and convenient, and all those cars off the road also help with this because the lights will be queued up with fewer cars.
Unfortunately, the US is king of the suburbs and I don't see that changing any time soon.
I know you don't need AI to do this but I think AI would do a great job if properly employed.
That’s been a thing for decades already in a lot of places.
And it certainly didn't need any "AI" to work.
Nope, but it can be improved significantly by adopting it properly though.
To be fair, there are already more intelligent traffic light systems that use sensors in the road to see if there is traffic sitting at the lights, combined with push buttons for pedestrians and cyclists. These can be combined with sensors further up the road to see if more traffic is coming and extend the periods of green light for certain sides. It may not be perfect and it may require touching up later after seeing which times could be extended or shortened. It's not AI but it works a lot better than the old hard coded traffic lights. Here in the Netherlands there are only a handfull of intersections left that still have the hard coded traffic lights.
Not near me. I can't speak to the entire US, but everywhere I've been, it's horrible. In Germany they have a green wave, where all of the lights are green if you go the speed limit. I have only encountered this twice within 200 miles of where I live.
You and Sarah Radz and everyone else here with brilliant practical ideas need to submit your resumes to the Silicon-Valley-esque corporations that comandeer such industries, be hired on as brains.
Thank you for the kindness. At least I think it's kind. I don't know who Sarah Radz is. So I choose to accept this as a compliment.
There is another solution: not use car
That would be great, but it's just not practical in many places.
I looked up how to get to work using public transportation once. It was 3 hours using 3 busses and a half hour walk. LOL. I could literally do it in two hours using a bike. But I'm just not willing to spend 4 hours a day getting to work and back. I don't know many that would of they had a choice. It's half an hour drive for me, but 22 miles, mostly interstate.
That’s a problem, not a solution
People who have only lived in car centric cities cannot fathom how this is better
It's not that I can't fathom how it could be better, I literally wish I could get rid of my car.
I literally can't. I live far enough away from my job that not having a car to get there every day isn't an option, I can't move close enough to my job to eliminate a car, and even if I did, I'm only making the drive further for my wife. We don't live within walking distance of a grocery store. I genuinely need a car. My wife needs one too. I don't live in a city with with even shitty options for public transit. It's just not an option. My wife doesn't work in the same city she works in, there is no bus, and the nearest bus stop to my job is a 45 minute walk from my job, and a 2 hour bus trip.
It's a 10 minute drive for both of us.
If I could sell my car I fucking would. I love my car, but I'd give it up in a heartbeat if it were an option. I just don't have the option. This is without children. When a child is thrown in to the mix we will only depend on having two cars more.
Our mothers are aging, they live here and don't have other support. She has licenses that lock her in to this state. We aren't moving, and this city is a car city.