Maryland activates traffic management platform to combat gridlock
The Maryland Department of Transportation on Wednesday announced it’s deployed a new traffic management platform that uses artificial intelligence to help combat gridlock, improve traffic flow and enhance public safety at key intersections throughout the state.
The system is from NoTraffic, which has locations in Kansas and Israel, and retrofits intersections with traffic signals using AI-powered sensors to reduce congestion in real time by identifying private vehicles, public transit, emergency services and pedestrians.
The statewide launch builds off the platform’s success in the City of Baltimore, which last October installed the system at five intersections to better manage traffic surges after the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse in March.
“The No Traffic Video and Radar Detection System offers the benefits of a video detection camera and a radar in one unit, which results in more accurate detection of road users,” David Broughton, a representative from the Maryland Department of Transportation, told StateScoop in an email. “The artificial intelligence algorithm of this product can distinguish the true presence of a vehicle from a camera obstruction, such as sun glare, leaves, or birds; thus eliminating false calls to the signal controller and improving signal timing operations.”
Based on its performance in Baltimore, Broughton said NoTraffic was approved for statewide vehicle detection in May. In Maryland, he said, products approved through the state’s product evaluation list can be used on any state road.
Broughton said there are two more projects at intersections in Ann Arundel County and Baltimore County that are considering using NoTraffic. More than 30 states — including in California, Pennsylvania and Texas — use NoTraffic for statewide traffic management, according to the company.
