More than 60 people have attended Special Interest Session at the ITS European Congress in Lisbon discussing the issue of Vulnerable Road Users and whether technology can keep them safe from motor vehicles.
Chaired by Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport CEO Sharon Kindleysides, the session heard how Korean company Nota AI has pioneered an AI safe crossing solution which uses AI technology to analyse traffic monitoring CCTV images to detect the movement of vehicles in real time.
It then works out when accidents could occur up to three seconds before they happen through the short-term trajectory prediction, which means people can be warned of hazardous situations through various ways of notifications. Autonomous vehicles can notice the message with V2X communication, and general drivers and Vulnerable Road Users can be noticed with conventional alarms such as LED lights and speakers.
The panellists discussed how technology, including the AI Safe Crossing solution, can reduce pedestrian accident risks from various technological perspectives. Another panelist took exception to the word “vulnerable” suggesting they should be considered “valuable road users” and the focus of highways managers’ priorities.
Miss Kindleysides commented, “It was a really interesting, wide-ranging discussion which proved there are innovative technical solutions already available that should be embraced to reduce the unnecessarily high level of fatal and serious injuries on our roads. What we need to do is collaborate to bring together different sources of data and sensors to provide an integrated solution.”
(Picture – Nota AI)
