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Roads are fundamental for the development of a prosperous and fast economy for our future. Today, major cities are facing pressure to respond to urbanization, optimize traffic flow, reduce pollution, and help improve safety. Therefore, understanding what smart roads are and how they can help modern society is the goal of this article. Smart road technology helps city planners and government agencies address these challenges more easily, and is an essential component of initiatives involving the implementation and transformation of smart cities. This is because traffic congestion, as well as the issue of highway safety and maintenance, is a serious problem that grows alongside a city's development and growth. From traffic management to pedestrian and vehicle safety and environmental monitoring, the Internet of Things (IoT), in association with computer vision, is making roads smarter, more efficient, and better managed. We will understand more about these possibilities below. ALSO READ: • Technology for road monitoring, does it exist? Check it out here!
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What is a smart road?
With new pressures for cities to develop more effective roads and highways, smart infrastructure is essential for modernization. This is where the concept of smart roads comes in, which are built with computer vision technologies, enabling cities to capture and analyze data to improve daily traffic management. In this way, it is possible for roads to adapt to the needs of the people who use public roads and highways. With sensors, cameras, and radars operating with artificial intelligence, data can be analyzed virtually in real time and used to improve congested roads, thereby simplifying traffic flow. The data can also be sent to a cloud computing system for long-term analysis, providing concise information for developing strategies to reduce CO2 emissions or improve road conditions. Cloud computing, aligned with artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, opens up countless possibilities for smart, connected, and safer roads. It allows for low latency for analytics and data feeds for smart road infrastructure, such as adaptive traffic lights and integrated roads. For example, traffic lights can automatically adjust their timing based on sensor data, thereby improving traffic flow or changing signals to help protect others on the road from dangerous drivers.
Benefits of smart highways and smart infrastructure
There are many types of devices that enable smart road technology: speed sensors, acoustic sensors, IP CCTV cameras, AI-powered traffic lights, weather/condition monitoring systems, and digital signage. When these devices collect and analyze data in near real-time, cities can achieve several benefits: • Less congested streets: for the average American citizen, congestion costs 99 hours of their time and $1,377 per year. Smart road technology can track vehicles and adjust traffic lights when there are fewer or no cars approaching, thus helping to prevent long traffic jams. This could help drivers and passengers save 9.4 hours per year.
• Increased traffic and pedestrian safety: traffic monitoring solutions powered by computer vision can detect vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists, thereby helping with necessary safety practices. In the event of an accident or a street crime, smart devices can immediately alert first responders and competent law enforcement agencies.
• Improved parking and electronic tolling: Electronic tolling reduces congestion by using license plate recognition and vehicle tracking to automatically charge toll fees on highways and bridges, all without making vehicles stop or slow down.
By sending selected data to the cloud to be analyzed over time, cities can make continuous improvements in traffic management, road maintenance, and environmental quality, such as:
Identifying problem areas
a Data Analytics system can help detect intersections or other locations with a high rate of collisions or near-misses between vehicles or pedestrians. This helps cities determine whether the location would benefit from a traffic signal or a "stop" sign, a crosswalk, or a traffic light.
Improving pavement conditions
Over time, streets erode or disappear as asphalt wear and tear emerges. The possibility of monitoring road conditions gives cities the ability to assess pavement conditions and, thus, act in accordance with the most plausible solution. If cracks in a respective pavement are treated early, without major deterioration, infrastructure and resurfacing costs will be considerably lower.
Reducing pollution
Intelligent infrastructure can help reduce carbon emissions from daily transportation by optimizing traffic flow to avoid idling engines that end up injecting more pollutants into the atmosphere. Cities can also help reduce pollution by understanding where, strategically speaking, electric vehicle charging stations could be placed, so that their location would facilitate access for their users.
Expanding smart road technology
While many smart road technologies have already been implemented worldwide, the future of smart infrastructure is just beginning. Today, cities are seeing the benefits – reduced traffic congestion, improved public safety, and lowered CO2 emissions. With the latest generation of IoT technologies, city planners can confidently invest in smart road technologies that make an impact. The sustainability and intelligence of the smart highway concept heavily depend on the quality of the technologies adopted to thereby improve people's quality of life at the most viable cost possible. The governance of smart highways is a significant aspect of smart city initiatives, which will facilitate planning techniques for better decision-making, given that one of the key elements for a smart city's governance structure is the public value generated by the smart services it provides. Smart traffic infrastructure is an essential component of smart city initiatives because traffic congestion is a serious problem that grows alongside city development. Know that Pix Force has the right technology to help with highway monitoring, enabling smart roads to become a reality in our country. Get in touch with us!
Fabio Caraça
Fábio Caraça is the Chief Growth Officer at Pix Force. He leads Pix Force's transformation into a scalable SaaS operation, combining strategic vision, culture, and high-impact execution.
