WACO, Texas (KXXV) — Waco's MPO received 1.44 million dollars for the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation— or SMART grant.
- With the federal money– it will test existing AI technology to sense traffic conditions at intersections in real-time.
- Traffic flow will then be adjusted accordingly.
- While the grant has been awarded some questions remain regarding federal funding right now. The MPO is waiting until there are clear instructions to move forward. And there could be a bit of a delay in implementing the technology.
Watch a quick explanation of how it works:
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Waco's MPO received 1.44 million dollars for the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation, or SMART grant.
With the federal money– it will test existing AI technology to sense traffic conditions at intersections in real-time. Traffic flow will then be adjusted accordingly.
"Right now, it all works on timing, but it does not take into account how the traffic changes during the daytime," MPO Director Mukesh Kumar said. "So morning and the evening rush hour, traffic that does not signal, don't have to behave the same way throughout the day. This is another example where, with these AI based sensors, we can adjust it so that a maximum amount of traffic can flow through."
Waco's MPO Director Mukesh Kumar tells 25 News with this, each intersection will become its own decision-making unit.
"So with this technology, what we can do is that we can look about 100 yards on all four sides of the intersection and measure the exact amount of volume of traffic that we are expecting at any location," he said. "Then also notice what is happening here at the intersection and make the timing of the signal itself adjust according to the traffic condition."
One example of how this could be used is when there are events in our neighborhood.
"In the downtown area, let's say there is an event, or there are lots of festivities happening, and we want to prioritize pedestrian movement over everything else. So you want all the traffic lights throughout the downtown at that moment, for that specific period, to prioritize pedestrian movement."
Kumar tells 25 News—that the grant is only the first step to demonstrate and test the technology around town.
In the future, he says they would like to extend it throughout McLennan County.
