Queensland council trialling AI-powered traffic lights in Australia-first
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A Queensland council will trial the first AI-powered traffic light control system in the country.
The City of Moreton Bay, north of Brisbane, hopes the technology will ease motorists’ frustrations by shrinking unnecessary wait times at red lights.
The first Australian intersection to trial AI-powered traffic lights will be in Petrie, north of Brisbane. Google Maps
Current signal control technology operates on pre-determined sequences and grouping of traffic lights on a “first come, first served” basis informed by underground metal sensors.
The new technology works by using AI to analyse and manage individual vehicle movements without being tied to pre-determined sequences or fixed groupings.
Mayor Peter Flannery said the tech was a “game-changer” that would allow higher traffic flows to be prioritised dynamically across the day.
“There is the potential to substantially reduce the time motorists spend unnecessarily sitting at red lights, which is often constrained by legacy traffic control methods, and this can be extremely frustrating especially when there are no cars in sight,” Flannery said.
“Plus, for the first time, traffic signals can be adjusted by individual movements using advanced traffic detection sensors so congestion can be better managed including when vehicles flood our local road network.”
He said the technology would mean fewer “all-red” intervals when intersections are empty without compromising safe margins.
The technology will be tested at the intersection of Moreton Parade and Paper Avenue in Petrie and implemented later this year.
If it’s successful, the council plans to trial it at more complex intersections.
Brisbane City Council is also set to implement its own AI-powered traffic control technology trial this year.
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