The continuing development of self-driving cars may eventually lead to the disappearance of traffic lights, as scientists have created a new system to help autonomous vehicles deal with traffic at intersections.
This system, initiated by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is called "Light Traffic" and allows self-driving cars to cross intersections at an assigned time. The plan would only work for autonomous vehicles and operates similar to the "slot-based" management that is currently used for air traffic control.
Other institutes that collaborated on the project include the Swiss Institute of Technology (ETHZ) and the Italian National Research Council (CNR).
The research team talked about the issues that come with the traffic light (aside from having been used for 150 years), such as how there are many variables that can cause major conflicts for an entire intersection if there is even one breakdown in the flow of traffic.
"This explains why traffic can rapidly deteriorate in cities, resulting in widespread congestion and immense societal and environmental costs," the researchers wrote.
They added that traffic lights were originally designed for horse carriages, so today's road system will need to adapt to the current level of technology, especially with the progress of self-driving cars.
With "Light Traffic," yellow lights would act as a five to eight-minute "setup phase" during every light transition so that cars wouldn't stop still or flow through the intersection at an optimal rate. Each car would request access from a central control system when they approach the intersection, and they would then be given specific slots to pass through the junction.
Professor Carlo Ratti, director of the MIT Senseable City Lab, referred to "Light Traffic" as a "much more efficient system, because vehicles will get to an intersection exactly when there is a slot available to them."
Studies on the project note that real-time slot assignments would lead to a doubling in the amount of cars than can pass through an intersection at any time, resulting in reduced travel times and declines in emissions from cars that are just sitting around.
"Overall, people would benefit, the environment would benefit, and the cities would become more livable," said professor Dirk Helbing of the ETHZ.
The team stressed the need to update in today's road system, "as the transportation infrastructure that is being built today will be in operation for several decades and will most likely experience the transition to more intelligent, autonomous transportation."
The results were published in the March 16 issue of the journal PLOS ONE.
