As millions of Americans travel the interstates this Thanksgiving, many will encounter patches of traffic at a standstill for no apparent reason — no construction or accident. Researchers say the problem is you.
Human drivers just don't do a good job of navigating dense traffic conditions, but an experiment using artificial intelligence in Nashville last week means help could be on the way. In the experiment, specially equipped cars were able to ease rush hour congestion on Interstate-24, researcher Daniel Work said on Tuesday. In addition to lessening driver frustration, Work said less stop-and-go driving means fuel savings and, by extension, less pollution.
The experiment utilized 100 cars that travelled in loops on a 15-mile section of I-24 from about 6 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. each morning. Working on the premise that if 5% of the cars on the road were acting together, they could lessen the prevalence of phantom traffic jams, the researchers equipped those 100 cars to communicate wirelessly, sending traffic information back and forth.
The cars’ decision-making occurred on two levels, Work said. At the cloud level, information about traffic conditions was used to create an overall speed plan. That plan was then broadcast to the cars, which used artificial intelligence algorithms to determine the best action to take. The researchers were able to evaluate the effect the connected cars had on morning traffic flow using a special 4-mile stretch of I-24 outfitted with 300 pole-mounted sensors.
Liam Pedersen is deputy general manager for research at Nissan, a CIRCLES consortium partner who was in Nashville last week for the experiment. He said one of the exciting things about it is that it builds on technology that is already in many new cars.Asked if automakers will be willing to cooperate to ease traffic, Pedersen said, “I certainly hope so, because the system works best when lots and lots of cars participate.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Researchers share a more likely reason for Bruce Lee's deathBruce Lee may have died from drinking too much water.
Read more »
Beware of unqualified nutrition authors, Halifax researchers say | SaltWireResearchers are warning buyers to read the fine print, particularly when it comes to an author’s qualifications, when browsing the nutrition book ...
Read more »
Researchers share a more likely reason for Bruce Lee's deathBruce Lee may have died from drinking too much water.
Read more »
Researchers share a more likely reason for Bruce Lee's deathBruce Lee may have died from drinking too much water.
Read more »
Long COVID could change your brain, researchers sayNew research has indicated that COVID-19 may be correlated with lasting changes in the human brain, even months after recovery.
Read more »
Willson shares American Thanksgiving memories, previews Thursday's matchupsAmerican Thanksgiving is almost here and the NFL has blessed its fans with an entertaining three-game slate, which includes an NFC East clash between the Cowboys and Giants. TSN NFL analyst Luke Willson shares his memories from playing on America Thanksgiving and looks ahead to the matchups on Thursday.
Read more »