AI on the road
A signal stays green for an empty road. A long line waits on the other. Can it do better?
- A fixed timer gives each road 30 seconds.
- Road A has 2 cars. Road B has 12.
- Cameras can count the cars.
- A made-up rule gives A 16 s and B 44 s.
Yes, it can give more green to the road with more cars.
A made-up rule is one invented for this lesson. Here, s means seconds. The sign ≈ means about equal.
The made-up rule has 60 s in all. Each road gets 10 s. The other 40 s are shared by the cars waiting.
- Cars waiting: 2 + 12 = 14.
- Road A: 10 + 40 × 2 ÷ 14 ≈ 16 s.
- Road B: 10 + 40 × 12 ÷ 14 ≈ 44 s.
A signal that changes its timing with the traffic is called adaptive. Some cities already use such signals.
Navigation apps use live traffic and past traffic to suggest a route. Live traffic means traffic as it is now. A fully self-driving car needs no driver. Fully self-driving cars still work in limited places.
Cameras can count the traffic. A program can change the green times to match.
Slide the cars on each road. Meet each task.
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