Next month’s JCT Traffic Signals Symposium will hear how an Artificial Intelligence-based traffic control support system has provided a previously-unavailable level of insight into traffic movements on the road network.
The Traffic Signal Maintenance AI Project is a partnership between Kirklees Council, the University of Huddersfield and AI experts Simplifai Systems. The pilot project was made possible thanks to the receipt of one of the grants from the Department for Transport’s £15 million traffic signals challenge last year.
The paper is authored by Simplifai CEO Keith McCabe (pictured )and his colleague Professor Lee McCluskey, along with Robert Whiteside and David Clegg of Kirklees council and Mauro Vallati from the University of Huddersfield and will be delivered by Keith McCabe and Rob Whiteside. It will outline the challenges and opportunities created by introducing a new form of traffic control based on the Simplifai control approach.
Delegates will hear how they created an AI readable digital twin for traffic control, how to set a goal for traffic control that can be understood by machines, the skills needed to use new control techniques and the outcomes from the deployment in Kirklees. It will cover the sources of data and how to fuse them, the simulation and prediction tools, creation of a knowledge-based AI model and how to create new timings to address particular goals.
“Tapping into the data collected by the existing systems and turning it into knowledge about the performance of the network has enabled Kirklees to use maintenance funding to focus on improving reliability and assist in achieving the Council’s Net Zero Commitments,” explained Mr McCabe.
“I’m particularly excited about this paper,” added Symposium organiser John Nightingale of JCT. “This is the latest example of how technology is changing the way authorities can manage traffic and make intersections safer, greener and more efficient. The fact the team has chosen to reveal the lessons learned at the JCT Traffic Signals Symposium shows just how highly the event is considered within those at the cutting-edge of new signals technology.”
A total of 26 presentations and speeches will be given at the two-day event at Nottingham Trent University on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 September. The Symposium also features more than 30 exhibitors and a large amount of networking including the Highways News barbecue on Tuesday 13 September and the Yunex Traffic Gala Dinner the night after. The free-to-attend MOVA User Group takes place during the day on the Tuesday.
To join local authorities, academics and suppliers at the event, click here to sign up.
