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Why do we need Google to do this? I remember learning 10+ years ago in college that (I think) Paris was using AI to dynamically optimize traffic lights to mana

by Swizec 2y ago

Why do we need Google to do this? I remember learning 10+ years ago in college that (I think) Paris was using AI to dynamically optimize traffic lights to manage congestion. It was called machine learning back then, of course. The oldest paper that Google lets me find today is from 2017 (search has a recency bias): https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8122189 https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8122189 edit: found one from 2014 – https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/trans-r-and-d-repository/C-10-13%20Final%20Report_10-7-14.pdf https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-servi... Edit: Found better sources! Here's a paper from 1990 about real-time modelling and monitoring of traffic patterns in Paris https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317769123_Modelling_and_Real-time_Control_of_Traffic_Flow_on_the_Boulevard_Peripherique_in_Paris https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317769123_Modelling... And a paper from 2015 that explicitly mentions using cameras for traffic detection: https://hal.science/hal-01491597/document https://hal.science/hal-01491597/document

gniv 2y ago
> Why do we need Google to do this? Many intersections don't have traffic sensors.
- fnordpiglet 2y ago
  Also sensors in the road aren’t the same detail as having cars with sensors navigating the entire complex of all intersections at once. The granularity of that could really only be matched by cameras and vision models, which I expect cities couldn’t pull off as a comprehensive ML solution being simply too technically complex. Using their existing telemetry is the least intrusive way to collect lots of high quality highly detailed data at the individual car level.
  - Swizec 2y ago
    > The granularity of that could really only be matched by cameras and vision models, which I expect cities couldn’t pull off as a comprehensive ML solution being simply too technically complex The systems I heard about in college used cameras. Lots of CCTV in cities like Paris :) Wish I remembered what it was called so I could find sauce Edit: Found better sources! Here's a paper from 1990 about real-time modelling and monitoring of traffic patterns in Paris https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317769123_Modelling_and_Real-time_Control_of_Traffic_Flow_on_the_Boulevard_Peripherique_in_Paris https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317769123_Modelling... And a paper from 2015 that explicitly mentions using cameras for traffic detection: https://hal.science/hal-01491597/document https://hal.science/hal-01491597/document
- simonw 2y ago
  Right: Google Maps navigation logs presumably provide data about pretty much every road on the planet at this point, without any extra instrumentation needed.
- Swizec 2y ago
  > Many intersections don't have traffic sensors. When I heard about this in college the systems used the existing CCTV surveillance network to analyze traffic.

by Swizec 2y ago

gniv 2y ago

> Why do we need Google to do this? Many intersections don't have traffic sensors.

fnordpiglet 2y ago
Also sensors in the road aren’t the same detail as having cars with sensors navigating the entire complex of all intersections at once. The granularity of that could really only be matched by cameras and vision models, which I expect cities couldn’t pull off as a comprehensive ML solution being simply too technically complex. Using their existing telemetry is the least intrusive way to collect lots of high quality highly detailed data at the individual car level.
- Swizec 2y ago
  > The granularity of that could really only be matched by cameras and vision models, which I expect cities couldn’t pull off as a comprehensive ML solution being simply too technically complex The systems I heard about in college used cameras. Lots of CCTV in cities like Paris :) Wish I remembered what it was called so I could find sauce Edit: Found better sources! Here's a paper from 1990 about real-time modelling and monitoring of traffic patterns in Paris https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317769123_Modelling_and_Real-time_Control_of_Traffic_Flow_on_the_Boulevard_Peripherique_in_Paris https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317769123_Modelling... And a paper from 2015 that explicitly mentions using cameras for traffic detection: https://hal.science/hal-01491597/document https://hal.science/hal-01491597/document
simonw 2y ago
Right: Google Maps navigation logs presumably provide data about pretty much every road on the planet at this point, without any extra instrumentation needed.
Swizec 2y ago
> Many intersections don't have traffic sensors. When I heard about this in college the systems used the existing CCTV surveillance network to analyze traffic.