Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has partnered with British AI transport company, Vivacity Labs, to roll out AI-controlled smart traffic junctions, optimise traffic networks and accommodate active travel in the city during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Using sensors with inbuilt artificial intelligence, Vivacity’s technology will enable TfGM to anonymously identify different types of road users at selected junctions and control traffic signals to allow different modes of transportation to be prioritised as and when required.
Vivacity Labs’ AI signal control system went live early this year, before scaling to simultaneously control three neighbouring junctions in the Blackfriars area of Salford in September 2020.
The rollout comes as part of a three-year Innovate UK co-funded programme to use AI to optimise traffic networks.
Richard Dolphin, highways network performance manager at TfGM, said: “Having already developed an innovative product in terms of their sensing technology, Vivacity has become well-versed in the relevant standards and have made impressive strides in the continuing development of their Smart Junctions system.
“We’ve been really impressed with how Vivacity has approached this, assessing current ways of working and addressing the complexities of managing a multi-modal transport network. Hopefully, this development will continue into something that will positively disrupt the industry and revolutionise active travel in urban areas.”
The project has secured additional investment to expand throughout the trial region via the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport’s ‘5G Create fund’, which was announced in July 2020.
The project will scale up to an area of 20 junctions in Manchester by the end of 2021 and aims to demonstrate impact in the real world in the form of improved journey quality for all road users in the region.
