Starting early next year, 37 intersections in Brisbane will begin a six-month trial of an AI-based traffic light control system. The program will be trialled in 22 intersections on Logan Road and 15 intersections along Kelvin Grove Road, replacing the current phase-based system, which has been widespread since the 1950s.
The first trial of its kind in Australia, it’s being supported by the City Council, who says it could reduce travel time by up to 15% on average and reduce rear-end crashes by 12%. With $15 million allocated to the test, it will determine whether the system will be rolled out across the council’s network of 1,000 intersections.
City Council Transport Chair, Ryan Murphy said work on building the software will start in the coming weeks. The system’s cameras will be able to identify pedestrians, cyclists, cars, trucks, and public transport, determining traffic intensity and queue lengths at intersections, so it can then calculate the optimal sequence of signals.
A human will remain involved in the operation, determining priorities for individual sections, like pedestrian-heavy districs, or areas with a lot of freight transport. The technology will also adapt over time as it learns patterns, and offer operators different intervention options, such as in the case of weather conditions and big events such as football matches. Mr Murphy maintained that all collected data will be stored locally, and never transferred abroad, and faces and licence plates will be blurred.
Neighbouring Moreton City Council announced it would trial AI traffic signalling at one intersection at Petrie later this year, as they announced earlier this year.
