How AI Is Converting Dumb Traffic Lights to Smart Systems

As a rule, traffic lights are mindless. Most rely on decades-old timers, which are in turn based on outdated traffic-flow predictions. This leads to frustrated drivers, longer commutes, more traffic pollution, and more accidents at intersections. A Tel Aviv/Palo Alto-based tech startup called NoTraffic is on a mission to make traffic lights smarter. Using AI, Cloud, and V2X (Vehicle to Everything) tech, the system senses, identifies, and analyzes all traffic (vehicles, bikes, and pedestrians) approaching an intersection and continuously adjusts light timing to optimize traffic flow. Results from a trial in Maricopa County, Arizona, found that driver delay time at a NoTraffic-equipped intersection was reduced by 741.1 hours in one week, equivalent to 16,759 hours or 23 months of reduced driver time per year. If Maricopa County were to equip 4,000 intersections in the area, NoTraffic could save over half a million tons of CO2 emissions and generate $1 billion of economic benefit per year by keeping traffic moving.