Revolutionizing Traffic Management with IoT
The Internet of Things (IoT) is set to disrupt the way traffic has been managed for the past 100 years. With autonomous vehicles revolutionizing transport mobility and moving towards the tipping point it is only natural that experts are turning towards drastically rethinking traffic management itself. For starters, with the incorporation of the Internet of Things, smart infrastructure technologies are being incorporated into traffic lights, toll booths, car parks and even the roads and bridges. This has enabled them to communicate with each other and the vehicles that traverse upon them.
If the traffic management system is considered as a singular ecosystem that is rich in feedback and does not require a controlling influence, it can make for a more efficient transport mobility system. Taking signal lights for instance, digital sensors placed within the traffic lights interacting using communications technology with the vehicles on the roads, will enable them to vary the signal timings according to traffic density to ensure the most efficient routing of traffic. This prioritization of passages based on traffic density can go a long way to help manage the traffic better.
Here are a few examples regarding how IoT can be used effectively in the creation of a smart traffic management regime with IoT.
Smart Traffic Decision Support
The smart traffic decision support is a creation of the big data analytics. It helps break down loads of hefty information into chunks that can help share necessary information across departments and systems. This system collects all traffic information through sensors for facilitating real-time traffic control and monitoring. Moreover, the solution also possesses a method to observe and predict numerous trends related to traffic.
Parking Issues and Traffic Congestion
According to a report by the World Health Organization, almost 50 per cent of the population across the globe lives in densely populated cities. Although population growth can be good for economic activity, the congestion can really have an impact on traffic. City planners can now use data analytics and other big data numbers to find out which parking slots and types are most preferred by the drivers from the region. This can assist in managing the load of traffic congestion and parking on the roads.
Improved flow of traffic will result in increased fuel efficiency in a systematic manner due to the reduction in traffic congestion. More efficient transport mobility systems based on new technologies can be used to set the toll-booth prices for particular times of the day depending on the frequency of usage of a particular passage in that time period. An approach like this can be used in the context of parking spaces which will set the prices of parking in a particular parking area depending on the demand and free space, all according to real time needs. Significant changes like these are all possible with the advent of the Internet of Things and can dramatically reduce the time lost in traffic jams and improve the flow of traffic by a huge margin if fully capitalized on.
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