Traffic Mitigation Concept
"Project Greenlight" • 5 min read
Optimized for desktop, Last updated: 19 Nov 2021
1 Minute Summary
I'm always questioning the way things are and rethinking them (glorified complaining), and the many hours of sitting in traffic got me thinking: Is there a way to reduce road traffic? The solution I thought of would require 3 major components:
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a sensor in every vehicle that relays the vehicle's speed and position
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a network of road receivers that receives these signals from vehicles
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a central machine-learning computer that controls traffic lights and learns traffic patterns according to the information received from said vehicle sensors
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So instead of relying solely on conventional close-range vehicle detection systems, traffic lights could preemptively change based on prior traffic trends or change due to immediate needs. For example, after some time the system may learn that traffic going East-West in a particular intersection is more populated on weekends, preemptively defaulting to give the East-West a green light on Saturday and Sunday. But the system could also see a cluster of vehicles approaching the intersection North-South and give them the green so they don't even have to tap the brakes.
But how can we equip every vehicle with such a sensor in the cheapest way possible? My solution: we use our existing smartphones to tell traffic light systems where we are and how fast we are approaching. Collectively, our phones create a massive network of data points that the system uses to calculate the best combination of traffic light signals to improve traffic efficiency.
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I've developed a prototype phone app that would connect with this traffic data to maximize the effectiveness of a smart traffic system and help people save time by making more informed driving choices.
Ai
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Xd
1 week
Solo
Introduction
Traffic frustrates me to no end. It's unproductive and largely unavoidable. I also live in Southern California, which just so happens to have the worst traffic delays in the entire United States. While I'm sitting in traffic, my mind often drifts to the same question:
How can we reduce road traffic?
Note: I'm not an engineer or statistician. I'm just a designer who likes to rethink things.
The Problem
Every year, Southern Californians waste a combined total of 971,478,000 hours in traffic¹.
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That's about 111,000 years.
For reference, the Great Pyramids of Giza were built only 4,000 years ago. I'd love to be able to put a dent in those numbers, even if it means decreasing commutes by a matter of minutes.
Research
Let's rethink conventional traffic light systems.
Modern actuated control signals rely on close-range sensors to detect approaching vehicles². While they are a step up from antiquated traffic signals that relied purely on timers, they have very limited flexibility and cannot detect long range traffic fluctuations, nor can they adjust for them.
There are proven alternatives.
Already there have been studies on more dynamic solutions with promising potential³. Such alternatives are dependent on vehicles or traffic lights being equipped with smart sensors that calculate traffic density, speed, and direction. This vehicular data is transmitted to a central system that calculates the most efficient traffic lights for all vehicles, and changes the traffic lights accordingly.
The Challenges
1. Installing sensor infrastructure.
2. Programming the traffic algorithm.
3. Equipping every vehicle with a sensor.
Small scale studies suggest that systems like this would significantly reduce city traffic times. However, a major financial and logistical concern for this system is equipping every vehicle with a capable sensor.
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I believe a potential cost-free solution to this last concern is sitting right under our noses. Literally.
The Solution
Utilize our smartphone's array of sensors and tech to help systems coordinate traffic.
Instead of retroactively equipping vehicles with expensive, proprietary sensors, we could use our phone's existing capabilities to communicate with smart traffic systems and in order to reduce traffic times.
The majority of smartphone users certainly drive with their smartphone. By opting in to allow their device to send location, speed, and directional data to inform traffic systems, we essentially equip every vehicle with an individual sensor.
Hold up. There's some caveats...
A dedicated sensor that's made specifically to communicate with traffic signals in every vehicle might be a more effective long-term solution, albeit far more expensive and would take far longer to implement on a large scale. Using our smartphones would be far cheaper and faster, and could serve as the starting point for a widespread smart traffic system.
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There is the possibility that current generation devices do not possess the ability to integrate with sophisticated smart traffic sensors. However, smartphones of the future could be intentionally manufactured to integrate with smart city systems, making this idea a relevant possibility. Or better yet, smart city systems would work with smart device manufacturers like Apple, Samsung, and Huawei to ensure seamless integration in the future.
Further Applications
Why stop at just your commute? The potential applications of smartphones integrating with smart traffic systems is virtually endless.
We've seen how our smart devices might be used to give data to a smart traffic systems so that traffic can be better coordinated, but what if the smart traffic system could give the sum of that data back to us? I imagine apps could use that data to enhance the quality of our personal lives in the following ways:
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See traffic wait times for all your favorite destinations in real time.
The smart traffic system would be able to calculate travel time more accurately and also display it for all your favorite and most-visited destinations.
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These traffic levels could be color-coded for quick info at a glance. They might also have alert functions to notify you when traffic subsides to acceptable levels.
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Wake you up early so you're not late if there's a delay en route.
Scenario: you have to be at work by 8:00 in the morning but while you're asleep, there's a 33 minute delay. The smart traffic system would calculate this slowdown and the app could alert you, waking you up just in time to be punctual.
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All you'd have to do is set a desired destination and a specific arrival time. Any applicable delays on the route would be detected and you'd get notified to leave earlier.
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Get suggestions for time-saving, alternate destinations during heavy traffic and wait times.
Scenario: You have to get some dinner before the gym, but you need it fast. Only problem is your favorite taco shop has severe wait times.
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The app could recommend similar restaurants with far less traffic and wait times.
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See how much time you've saved using the smart traffic system.
I believe that being able to see how much time the app helped you save would really help with user satisfaction and trust.
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These metrics might be calculated every time you take an alternate route or destination, whenever you do errands at an optimal time, etc...
Try the app out for yourself.
I developed a quick prototype in Adobe XD to better illustrate how someone might use the traffic data to improve the quality of their day and make better time-related choices aside from the direct traffic reduction.
Note: Opens in an external window.
Wireframing & Development
Final Thoughts
Even if current smartphones don't possess the technology to provide vehicular data to smart city sensors, I believe one day smartphones could play a very important role in a smart traffic ecosystem due to their ubiquitous nature. As long as individual privacy is maintained, I would be thrilled to be a part of a project that helped mitigate one of the world's greatest waste of time.
Sources
¹ “Data and Trends.” Texas A&M Transportation Institute Mobility Division, Texas A&M University, mobility.tamu.edu/umr/data-and-trends. Accessed 23 Feb. 2021.
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² “How Does a Traffic Light Detect That a Car Has Pulled up and Is Waiting for the Light to Change?” HowStuffWorks, 27 Apr. 2021, auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/safety-regulatory-devices/how-does-a-traffic-light-detect-that-a-car-has-pulled-up-and-is-waiting-for-the-light-to-change.htm.
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³ Austin, Patrick Lucas. “Want to Fix Road Congestion? Try Smarter Traffic Lights.” Time, 21 Jan. 2019, time.com/5502192/smart-traffic-lights-ai.
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³ Guerrero-Ibáñez, Juan, Sherali Zeadally, and Juan Contreras-Castillo. “Sensor Technologies for Intelligent Transportation Systems.” Sensors 18.4 (2018): 1212. Crossref. Web.