Technology allows traffic lights to communicate with cars

(7 Dec 2016) LEAD IN:
Audi is introducing an industry-first system that tells drivers how long it will take for a traffic light to change from red to green.
The system wirelessly links vehicles to traffic-management computers in certain U.S. cities.

STORY-LINE:
Not knowing when or how long until a red light will turn green can often be a source of frustration for drivers.
Vehicle manufacturer Audi is hoping to change that by unveiling technology that enables its vehicles to “read” traffic signals ahead.
It’s a simple display for the driver, a dashboard traffic signal icon and a timer.
The technology behind it is more complex. It uses 4G LTE cellular communication between the vehicle and a centralized traffic management control network, dubbed vehicle-to-infrastructure or “V2I.”
Audi offers it through a subscription service not unlike commercial satellite radio. The company calls it “traffic light information.”
Company executive Pom Malhotra terms it “time to green.”
“We’ve taken this data that’s available in the traffic management systems in the cities, that manages all of the traffic lights of the city, and we have that data collected by a provider that we’re working with – Traffic Technology Services – which essentially has a core capability in machine intelligence. They can take this data and process it in real time and they’ve come up with prediction algorithms that create a forecast for when the light will turn green.”
Audi and the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada officials say Las Vegas was picked for the technology debut because it has a single centralized traffic management centre covering all jurisdictions in Clark County.
About 150 Audi owners are using the system in Las Vegas, according to Malhotra.
An dashboard icon shows a countdown clock which shows how long it will take for the lights to change.
“And essentially what it will display is a traffic light icon showing a red light with a counter underneath and a small map with the type of intersection, whether it’s a cross intersection or a straight intersection. And it also gives you the level of decision of whether you’re going through or if you’re turning. So if you hit the indicator that actually indicates that you’re actually turning lane it switches the timing to adjust to the turning signal so that you know that you’re seeing the countdown for the turning itself,” says Malhotra.
Audi hopes to expand the system soon to other big U.S. cities, including places like Los Angeles, which have patchwork traffic management systems run by varying jurisdictions in a sprawling urban landscape.

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