(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) You are waiting at a traffic signal at a busy junction in Dubai. You see that the adjacent signal has free-flowing traffic, while when it's your turn to move, the signal only seems to allow four cars to pass. Sounds familiar?
This is probably one of the most frustrating moments in every driver's day, but fortunately the so-called 'partial traffic signals' are a myth.
As officials from the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) explained how the new smart traffic signals work, they busted some traffic myths like these.
Smart traffic lights are a new system that combines existing technology with artificial intelligence to create lights that "think for themselves".
In February this year, the RTA announced that the emirate's traffic signal controllers were connected to the Central Urban Traffic Control (UTC-SCOOT) system.
The agency has also completed the project of shifting the control of traffic signals from the existing hired telephone lines to 3G technology and enabling remote control of signals via the RTA's Traffic Control Centre.
Maitha bin Udai, CEO of the RTA Traffic and Roads Agency, told Khaleej Times: "Dubai is one of the fastest growing cities worldwide and the RTA is tasked to keep it moving. We adopt new policies and practices; and implement newer and better technologies to keep traffic circulating in Dubai."
Bin Udai explained the benefits of the UTC-SCOOT system. "Most importantly, it optimises the signal timings automatically as calculated by the central system. The system also makes a remote connection to the traffic controllers and adjusts the traffic signal timings to manage the sudden fluctuations in traffic flow due to incidents, special events, etc. Thirdly, it improvises the existing fault monitoring and diagnosis facility for prompt repairs and reporting; and finally it synchronises all the traffic controllers to one real-time clock.
"Earlier, we were using legacy leased line technology to connect the traffic controllers to the UTC-SCOOT system. As leased line technology is becoming obsolete, we had to improvise and look for alternative modes of communication."
Bin Udai made it clear that every signal in the emirate in synchronised.
With the new project, she said, the RTA hopes to better manage and control traffic. "We aim to achieve this by doing two things - one is to maximise the efficiency of the signalised road network and the second is to minimise any disruptions caused by incidents, events and equipment failures," said bin Udai.
Speaking as to why the new technology was adopted, bin Udai said: "Our engineers carried out a feasibility study, in which the different technologies - private microwave, fiber optics and ISP cellular network - were compared for a number of factors such as ease of deployment, existing and planned area coverage, data security, network availability, initial CAPEX and OPEX costs, etc. for long periods of time. Any new technology is tested in Dubai for months in advance before it is formally adopted."
She stated that 3G solutions are "evidently better" than other available technologies at the moment. "Plus it is a Smart City solution as it leverages upon the infrastructure investments carried out by the ISPs in Dubai.
"As is common with any new initiative, we are bound to face challenges. Since the project team members are very keen about this whole effort, they have been able to mitigate those challenges as the work progressed," she said.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.