Nagpur: The traffic jams and congestions will soon be a thing of past for Nagpurians as by end of next year, Nagpur’s traffic signals and movement are likely to be monitored by Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the city inches closer to getting its own Intelligent Integrated Traffic Management System (IITMS).
Be it a natural disaster, political protests, or accidents, the flow of traffic may remain unhindered as AI will inform authorities which route to divert vehicles to and even provide simulations of the worst-case scenarios.
On Wednesday evening, commuters on RBI Square-GPO Square stretch were greeted with the unusual sight of formally dressed men directing traffic at some crucial junctions. Unknown to many, this was part of the evaluation demonstration being given to Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) by one of the bidders for IITMS.
The evaluation demo involved showcasing the company’s capabilities to meet the criteria mentioned in the tender. Competing bidders will go through this process before the final tender is awarded.
NMC’s chief Abhijit Chaudhari said, “Around 165 traffic signals will be part of the IITMS grid and AI will play a key role. The software will have the capacity to control traffic lights based on the number of vehicles present at a junction. So instead of a preset synchronized timer, the AI will change traffic lights to red or green to keep traffic moving.”
CCTVs on city squares will provide real-time information to the AI brain at Nagpur’s Smart City Control Room. With its eyes on every single vehicle on the connected online grid, the AI will keep making real-time decisions to ensure there’s no gridlock on Nagpur’s streets.
Chaudhari said, “The software will also throw up simulated scenarios to handle unforeseen situations. If there is a protest somewhere, we will get a simulated version of its potential impact on city traffic and solutions for that particular scenario.”
The massive data which will stream through and be processed by the software promises to be a game changer for better traffic management. It also has the potential to flag traffic violators so that authorities can take appropriate action. Chaudhari said, “After following the due process, the tender will be awarded and the winner will have 15 months to complete the work.”
