Houston will expand a program that uses artificial intelligence for traffic sensors and signal timing.
Houston City Council approved over $715,000 to deploy the No Traffic Autonomous Traffic Management Platform at various intersections throughout the city.
How it works
City officials said the program, which is a cloud-based system, uses AI sensors and makes real-time signal timing adjustments by monitoring the traffic flows, instead of a fixed, timed signal. It also makes adjustments and exceptions for emergency vehicles.
Council member Sallie Alcorn said at the April 8 meeting that using AI at the city helps in many ways.
“Save money, make traffic flow better,” she said. “This is the way of the future: real-time traffic considerations can be done by AI, and I hope this works out and we expand it.”
The impact
Council member Mario Castillo, who helped lead the effort, said this is an expansion of the program, which is currently in use at 10 intersections along Old Spanish Trails.
“This doesn’t have to end here,” he said. “If it works well, we can continue to expand this program across the city.”
Community Impact reached out to city officials about a timeline for implementation, but did not hear back by press time.
