Artificial intelligence to run traffic lights at all Bangkok intersections

[webfact]

Artificial intelligence to run traffic lights at all Bangkok intersections

By The Nation

 

FILE photo

 

Artificial intelligence will be operating the traffic lig hts at all 505 intersection in Bangkok “soon”, rather than police officers manually working the switches, according to a senior policeman.
 

Pol Col Kitti Ariyanon, deputy commander of the Police Bureau’s Traffic Police Division, said AI was already on the jo b around the clock at 59 intersections, figuring out how to lessen or increase motorists’ waiting times in every direction depending on the traffic flow.

 

He said police would work with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to introduce the system at all intersections soon.

 

Kitti said traffic police had actively responded to motorists’ complaints about the night-time waiting times being too long at 50 intersections and had reduced the times by 15 per cent.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30362348

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-01-16

[canuckamuck]

Intelligence has never been part of the traffic system. I am not sure Thailand is prepared for it

[otherstuff1957]

Wow, this is really impressive.

 

 

The BIB are now embracing 1980s technology!

[bluesofa]

12 minutes ago, webfact said:

Artificial intelligence will be operating the traffic lights at all 505 intersection in Bangkok “soon”

They're apparently catching up now.

Over thirty years ago where I lived in the UK it was running like that - computer controlled, with manual override if necessary, all from one control centre using CCTV.

 

Ah, but they probably need to 'invent it' for themselves here first.

[worgeordie]

I thought they had tried this in the past and it did not work,

as the Police were not happy as it was taking over from them.

regards Worgeordie

[NCC1701A]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_light#History

 

I guess artificial is better than no intelligence. do they need a import license for the intelligence?

[bluesofa]

2 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

I thought they had tried this in the past and it did not work,

as the Police were not happy as it was taking over from them.

regards Worgeordie

Artificial intelligence beats the police. How can you tell?

[xylophone]

15 minutes ago, canuckamuck said:

Intelligence has never been part of the traffic system. I am not sure Thailand is prepared for it

Intelligence has never been part of the traffic system............or of the BIB for that matter!

[scorecard]

10 minutes ago, otherstuff1957 said:

Wow, this is really impressive.

 

 

The BIB are now embracing 1980s technology!

 Well I hope it's not a repeat of the event some 20(?) years ago when all traffic lights were linked at massive expense into a master computer system which switched the lights automatically.

 

Day 1, soon after the system was turned on there was a jam somewhere so the top cop involved order the whole new system to be turned off and back to manual switching at most intersections. It was never used again.

 

So AI, if it doesn't work perfectly on day 1, will it just be abandoned? 

[shady86]

Wow. AI coming to Thailand. Created by they super intelligent spicies running the country!

[canuckamuck]

2 minutes ago, shady86 said:

Wow. AI coming to Thailand. Created by they super intelligent spicies running the country!

I have seen the spicys. I don't think they are running the country though, maybe behind the scenes.

[Crossy]

Just remember what happened to the computer controlled traffic system in The Italian Job (the real one that is).

 

 

 

[Nyezhov]

I used to play the NYC late night game as to how many signals I could make without getting caught by a red. Sometimes, depending on speed, 30 blocks.

 

There was a sci fi short story I once read about a guy who figured out the traffic lights and never caught a red

[Crossy]

The last attempt at something similar was in 1994 by Peek Traffic, it ended badly.

 

[bbi1]

49 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

I thought they had tried this in the past and it did not work,

as the Police were not happy as it was taking over from them.

regards Worgeordie

It will give them more free time so they can go extort baht from more citizens/foreigners ????

[fruitman]

1 hour ago, otherstuff1957 said:

Wow, this is really impressive.

 

 

The BIB are now embracing 1980s technology!

You think they will put sensors in the road and build smart systems which can adapt to the traffic flow and time of the day? That will be the next step i think, first they just program them with a timeclock...

 

Poor policemen who will end up outside in the heat writing tickets and getting shot at....

[monkeycu]

So what will the police who sit in the traffic box's playing with the traffic do now?

Buy an electric train set to play with or go and do some work  

[Bert got kinky]

Well considering that one of the definitions for ‘artificial’ in the English Oxford (online) Dictionary is (of a situation or concept) not existing naturally; contrived or false, then surely the police in Thailand have always relied on artificial intelligence.

[fruitman]

15 minutes ago, monkeycu said:

So what will the police who sit in the traffic box's playing with the traffic do now?

Buy an electric train set to play with or go and do some work  

Maybe they can assist the guy who has to close the railway crossing booms manually at Vibhawadee Rd.

[VocalNeal]

1 hour ago, worgeordie said:

I thought they had tried this in the past and it did not work,

as the Police were not happy as it was taking over from them.

regards Worgeordie

 

Yep. The police sabotaged the system. Police prestige is based on the number of subordinates. Automated traffic management means less traffic police.

[Lupatria]

Note to my diary: 

January 16th 2019 - the day "cold deformation of vehicles" became cult, and was voted as a vital part of the famous Thai culture by attentive netizens!

[Ramdas]

Well that’s what happens while they got their heads glued on their phone trying to work out how it works ????????‍♂️

[ChrisY1]

Seems they're talking of having traffic lights work together to allow better traffic flow......no AI involved because that would fail badly here....as does anything involving intelligence !

[Chang_paarp]

It will work fine till some cop comes along and decides he can do better and turns the lights he is near onto manual.

 

On a side note, does the programming include special consideration for motorcades? I can imagine some wannabe  VIP (think Mr "Do you know who my father is") getting stuck in traffic and raising merry hell.

[bluesofa]

4 minutes ago, Chang_paarp said:

It will work fine till some cop comes along and decides he can do better and turns the lights he is near onto manual.

 

On a side note, does the programming include special consideration for motorcades? I can imagine some wannabe  VIP (think Mr "Do you know who my father is") getting stuck in traffic and raising merry hell.

Yes, there will be a 'HiSo' button on the control centre panel to allow for this.

[dundas]

Well, if it all fails, I've had experience running a few red lights, if that's any help ... 

[Siameaze]

I see people running the red lights all the time. Don't need AI

[Classic Ray]

The pads in the road are old technology, I expect video analysis servers connected to the DSS/CCTV system to detect congestion at junctions and alter the green light times accordingly. It is increasingly being installed to detect congestion on railway station platforms and concourses for example.  

 

It will take a bit of programming, but if it works, I would hope to see it spread to Chiang Mai where I seem to spend half my life when driving waiting at red lights, wishing for underpasses and flyovers.

[fruitman]

2 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

Seems they're talking of having traffic lights work together to allow better traffic flow......no AI involved because that would fail badly here....as does anything involving intelligence !

In our area there's huge congestion from cars parked on the roads, don't dare to think that they'll start towing them away or fining them! That's not a thai way of solving problems, they dose the cars with the stoplight switch manually, every day again for many hours.

[NoshowJones]

6 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Artificial intelligence beats the police. How can you tell?

What will the policemen who get put on inactive duty do when this happens?