Google wants to use AI to time traffic lights more efficiently
I've often thought about this, but maybe to the next level. I don't want AI to work to optimize timing, I want it to run the lights in real time. Cameras that can "see" cars from all directions and understand the situation/whats happening and work around it as efficiently as possible. Basically a cop directing traffic, only 30 feet in the air, with 360 degree vision and unlimited processing power.
Yeeeesss. Then maybe it'll hold off for the extra 3 seconds I, as the last car in a pack, needs to get through a light before changing for that one single car on a side road.
In reply to iansane :
exactly
The cameras are already there so out of state companies can charge people for not waiting long enough to turn right on red, might as well put them to a positive use instead.
I don't want Google in charge. They'll just use it to track us by licence plate and sell the information to make money.
Stampie said:I don't want Google in charge. They'll just use it to track us by licence plate and sell the information to make money.
Honestly, for how berkeleying terribly timed most of ohio's traffic lights are, I'd be willing to accept a little bit of google tracking to not have to sit for a minute at every single light between my house and the highway every time regardless of time of day or level of traffic. Plus they're tracking my phone which is in the car anyway...not sure how much more they get out of tying it to a license plate.
Since I market this stuff, I can tell you that the technology is here today. It is no problem at all to track plates, traffic patterns, faces and more. The issue with traffic lights is the network to connect them all, cities have to roll out 5G Wi-FI to connect all of their lights, parking meters, parking spaces, etc. to Skynet. OK, not Skynet, but AWS (Amazon), Google Cloud or Azure (Microsoft). Your data will be captured, crunched and sold, but I assure you, the government is not tracking you nor do they care where you went for lunch. They just want to reduce traffic jams.
As a general rule, I'm pretty happy with how the lights around me work.
Unfortunately, SCDOT feels the need to berkeley with them every 6 months or so and screw up the traffic flow. Stop screwing with the lights guys. You aren't helping anything.
Then you have days like today where everyone forgets how to drive. 7 wrecks later and all the roads were berkeleyed up. Not even Google can fix that unless they are willing to block every phone within 20' of a road.
Stampie said:I don't want Google in charge. They'll just use it to track us by licence plate and sell the information to make money.
Why would Google need license plates to track you? You have a cell phone.
pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:Since I market this stuff, I can tell you that the technology is here today. It is no problem at all to track plates, traffic patterns, faces and more. The issue with traffic lights is the network to connect them all, cities have to roll out 5G Wi-FI to connect all of their lights, parking meters, parking spaces, etc. to Skynet. OK, not Skynet, but AWS (Amazon), Google Cloud or Azure (Microsoft). Your data will be captured, crunched and sold, but I assure you, the government is not tracking you nor do they care where you went for lunch. They just want to reduce traffic jams.
I've removed as much Google as possible from my life. Tell this poor lady that they don't track you using plates.
In reply to Stampie :
That's not the government tracking anyone. That's an abusive spouse misusing government tools for his personal vendetta.
Much like a current middle east govt official that used the govt spywear on his ex wife...
In reply to 84FSP :
Or all the NSA employees who used their unconstitutional spying software to spy on wives, girlfriends, family members, celebrities, and anyone else they could think of.
It's almost like giving people access to hardcore spy technology on any level is a bad idea. Maybe because people are scum.
Well, this went off track.
These systems can be made without spyware, without large scale networking, etc. You could make one entirely off the grid. Google needs no involvement, just some sort of AI technology.
You could do it independently but without a network, you wouldn't see the improvement overall because the AI would be optimizing the traffic for that corner instead of the entire city.
I would argue, it may become worse in some instances because what is optimal for intersection A may drive more traffic to the red light at corner B. Also the cost to maintain that much edge computing power would not be cost effective long term. you would basically need 1 computing device per corner. It wouldn't need to be high power but still there.
I gave up on the whole government is watching you on my first trip to Singapore. You carry a phone and use a credit card and they will track basically every move.
YES, do it, and then give people the option to pay for GOOGLE FAST PASS, which uses their maps data to optimize the lights in real time for just them, so they get to their destinations faster than average.
Sort of like an ambulance sensor, but way better.
ProDarwin said:Well, this went off track.
These systems can be made without spyware, without large scale networking, etc. You could make one entirely off the grid. Google needs no involvement, just some sort of AI technology.
You could make one for personal use entirely off grid, which would be pretty much useless.
You could probably get grant money to design such a system, but regardless of intention, it WILL be used negligently.
Then there's the fun of people hacking them, because there's no such thing as an unhackable network.
Why there couldn't be say a database that feeds real-time data from maps and waze and maybe the uberlyft users to make real-time traffic adjustments is pretty much up to someone wanting to pay for it though. That data is already being broadcast and recorded by everyone using navigation, it shouldn't be terribly difficult to make it work with a properly designed system.
Properly designed would probably be the deal breaker. Most likely fall to design by committee, and that always ends poorly.
I have contemplated using this new Google system as a way to out run the cops. Even though I know it totally would not work that way
No good can come from this because government's goals are different from your goals. Like the traffic lights on a local artery that, at two in the morning with no traffic anywhere, will detect approaching cars and change to red for the express purpose of making you stop and sit there for a long minute. A call to traffic engineering yields the following response: "We do that intentionally to slow people down."
ProDarwin said:Google wants to use AI to time traffic lights more efficiently
I've often thought about this, but maybe to the next level. I don't want AI to work to optimize timing, I want it to run the lights in real time. Cameras that can "see" cars from all directions and understand the situation/whats happening and work around it as efficiently as possible. Basically a cop directing traffic, only 30 feet in the air, with 360 degree vision and unlimited processing power.
Pretty sure these are already a thing. Pretty sure they are all over where I live.
Every light has a camera on it pointed towards oncoming traffic. Light adjusts timing based on what it sees.
I will say, there are downsides.... One of the lights I go through a good amount somehow does not see cars waiting to turn left, thus NEVER turns on the left turn light. I had to drive around a person in front of me and make a left turn on a red left turn arrow. Who knows how long that s-show went on. Another light, serving a busier intersection, has, on a few occasions I have seen, with at least 6 cars waiting to go through, will change with just enough time to get 3 cars through! Well bellow the "standard" timing! Argh!
aircooled said:ProDarwin said:Google wants to use AI to time traffic lights more efficiently
I've often thought about this, but maybe to the next level. I don't want AI to work to optimize timing, I want it to run the lights in real time. Cameras that can "see" cars from all directions and understand the situation/whats happening and work around it as efficiently as possible. Basically a cop directing traffic, only 30 feet in the air, with 360 degree vision and unlimited processing power.
Pretty sure these are already a thing. Pretty sure they are all over where I live.
Every light has a camera on it pointed towards oncoming traffic. Light adjusts timing based on what it sees.
Are you sure its AI driven, or is it a simple program?
Let's just turn these intersections into traffic circles wherever possible. They improve flow, reduce the number of accidents, and greatly reduce the severity of accidents that do occur. They also don't require any electricity (other than ambient lighting), computing, or oversight
ProDarwin said:Are you sure its AI driven, or is it a simple program?
Yeah, I have no idea what the back end is. Some sort of feedback based control. AI would of course be a more advanced "program", but I can see it could potentially have the same issues, or maybe worse (deciding humans are a threat and causing crashes to get rid of them... 
).
STM317 said:Let's just turn these intersections into traffic circles wherever possible. They improve flow, reduce the number of accidents, and greatly reduce the severity of accidents that do occur. They also don't require any electricity (other than ambient lighting), computing, or oversight
Traffic lights and stop signs are the bane of my existence. Roundabouts everywhere, please!
STM317 said:Let's just turn these intersections into traffic circles wherever possible. They improve flow, reduce the number of accidents, and greatly reduce the severity of accidents that do occur. They also don't require any electricity (other than ambient lighting), computing, or oversight
I'm 100% on board with this.
One of the only issues I have with roundabouts is that they suck for cyclists. Other than that I don't know why they aren't used pretty much everywhere.
You'll need to log in to post.
