UK to launch smart traffic lights that wait for slower pedestrians to cross

Older people and parents with young children will be given more time to cross the road under plans for a new generation of smart traffic lights in Britain.

The system works by taking images from a camera on top of the traffic light and processing them using AI equipment fitted to the structure

Older people and parents with young children will be given more time to cross the road under plans for a new generation of smart traffic lights in Britain.

Technology has been developed by a British company that uses wide-angle cameras and artificial intelligence to detect pedestrians beside the road and then turn the lights red without the need to touch a button.

According to their developers, the lights can be programmed to stop traffic immediately only when a certain number of people are waiting. This would avoid vehicles being held at lights every minute, often for just one person to cross, causing congestion and pollution from idling engines.

The technology will also be able to anticipate people’s intention to cross the road before they reach the lights and potentially stop traffic in advance if needed. The AI can track their approach from up to 15m away and recognise the behaviour of people who want to cross as opposed to those walking by.

The British company that developed the system, Now Wireless, said it could recognise pedestrians who were taking longer to approach the crossing. This could include older people, parents with buggies, those with mobility or visual impairments and people on crutches. Traffic lights would log the slow pace on the approach and then keep traffic on red for longer, giving these pedestrians a “smoother crossing ­experience”, it said.

A study in 2015 by Age UK said that most crossings assumed most pedestrians crossed at 1.2m per second but most over-65s walked more slowly. The system will be offered to up to 40 councils with which the company already has deals to provide traffic management systems. It will initially cost about £2500 per crossing, and the technology will be tested over the next few months before being switched on in August.

The system works by taking images from a camera on top of the traffic light and processing them using AI equipment fitted to the structure. According to the company, installation can be carried out simply and programmed according to local demands. This could include allowing vehicles to pass for longer when only one person is waiting to cross but stopping traffic sooner when two or more are standing by the road or approaching the lights. The information gathered by the AI will also be relayed to traffic managers, allowing them to monitor pedestrian numbers and the use of particular crossing points, the company said.

Transport for London has already introduced technology that uses video cameras trained on a “virtual box” by the roadside. It can detect the number of people entering the area and hold traffic for longer when it senses a larger build-up of pedestrians.

The Times