Technology has gradually permeated across domains over the years, however, inventions have been comparatively less visible in the field of traffic management and control. Recent years have seen intelligent transport systems (ITS) become popular in light of their endless possibilities, which range beyond traffic congestion information & control to efficient infrastructure usage and road safety.
Advances
in ITS technologies conceived the concept of intelligent traffic management
systems (ITMS), which are currently perceived as a conjunctive
multidisciplinary field of work, prompting several organizations worldwide
develop advanced solutions to ease traffic congestion and control. ITMS are
becoming indispensable components of traffic management, saving time of
commuters while ensuring smooth vehicle flow along with safety and comfort.
Software Innovation is the Key to ITMS
Advancements
The
concept of “smart city,” continues to transmute cities into digital societies.
Emphasis laid on controlling traffic flow is becoming stronger, at a time when
cities are brainstorming innovative technologies and ideas to evolve into
“smart” ones. This has rubbed off on the developments in intelligent traffic
management systems, which emphasize the integration of vehicle-to-roadside
wireless communication, and short-range, dedicated vehicle-to-vehicle
communication.
Software
innovations are the key to optimizing the existing antiquated systems, and
while there are myriad complexities involved in digitalizing road networks,
numerous technologies exist that leverage existing assets to morph and upgrade
traffic management. Powered by distributed acoustic sensor (DAS) – a
state-of-the-art technology, fiber-enabled solutions have offered smarter way
to manage and improve efficiency of traffic management. Integrating edge
computing systems and advanced artificial intelligence with DAS has facilitated
detection, classification, and reporting on traffic infrastructure activities
in real-time.
Volkswagen
Group (VW), a leading automotive giant, recently developed an intelligent
traffic management system leveraging a quantum computer, which are capable of
replacing the forecasting for transport demand, travel times, and urban traffic
volumes. This breakthrough in quantum algorithm is claimed by VW to enable
transport service providers, taxi companies, and public transport
organizations, to deploy their fleets with utter efficiency, meanwhile minimizing
waiting times of commuters. This collaborative effort of VW with D-Wave is a
paradigm of the real-world influence that quantum computing can have on
business operations and consumer regimes alike.
Intelligent
traffic management systems are not only holding their ground firm, but also taking
off into the skies, with the introduction of TopSky-SimDebrief by Thale. This
intelligent air traffic management training solution of Thale monitors the use
of air traffic controls, while tracking the physiological reactions of the
controller. As the air traffic continues to show a tremendous increase,
solutions such as the TopSky-SimDebrief are the key to cope up with rising air
traffic control requirements and maintaining safety.
Challenges Remain in Maintaining
Existing Infrastructure While Deploying New Ones
The
rapid internationalization of economies and changing landscape of
infrastructure have meant that demand patterns for the infrastructure services
continue to change across as well as within geographies. Financing the existing
traffic control infrastructure, while working on new deployments through
holistic management has emerged as a key challenge in the ITMS landscape.
Accomplishing the user requirements involves numerous functions called service
requirements, and addition of new functions entails the need for defining new
requirements for traffic management and control.
Multiple
technology layers are involved in the implementation of intelligent traffic
management systems, and there is a lack of expertise regarding identification
and selection of technologies vis-à-vis application. Apart from these
technological challenges, inherent issues barricade the efforts to change
traffic management infrastructure in cities. Safety critical nature of traffic
management systems, reliability testing and regulatory policy requirements
impede deployments of technologies, such as ITMS. Although challenges prevail
in ITMS deployments, several real-life examples have proved that advancements
and implementation of these technologies is not intangible.
The Road Ahead
IoT
proliferation has played a pivotal role in the realization of smart cities, and
eventually on relevant technologies, traffic management systems being no
exception. IoT-based intelligent traffic management systems are expected to
soon pick up steam to meet demand from an increasing number of smart city
projects, coordinate with ambulance drivers, and track traffic violators.
Ubiquitous
nature of IoT-based ITMS, and their unmatched performance in detecting usual
occurrences in a traffic flow, allude significant advancements and deployments
of these systems worldwide. Next-generation intelligent traffic management
systems point at integration of advanced sensors that bridge data gaps apropos
of traffic flow.
It
is highly likely that real-time traffic management supported by artificial
intelligence, and integrated with features of artificial intelligence, soon
come to the fore. Intelligent traffic management systems are the only tangible
aspect of efficient transits systems, with route planning and smart parking
management being other advances that collectively mold a more effective traffic
management and control system. As interaction between city infrastructures
becomes more complex, intelligent traffic management systems will undergo
multi-faceted advancements in the foreseeable future.
The information presented in this article is based on a report by Fact.MR on Intelligent Traffic Management System Market.
