Elon Musk wants AI-powered traffic management in cities, writes Ray Fernandez in a Screen Rant story.

News flash to Elon: This is already happening on three continents, thanks to Velodyne Lidar’s Intelligent Infrastructure Solution.

In his article, Fernandez writes how in a tweet Elon contemplates an “AI vision device that plugs into these legacy traffic lights. It could just look at traffic & automatically maximize throughput.”

To see AI & lidar in action in traffic management today, all’s Elon needs to do is take a short drive over from the Tesla Giga Texas factory in Austin to East 7th Street & Springdale Road.

There, he will find the city of Austin is piloting Velodyne’s Intelligent Infrastructure Solution.

AI and Lidar in Action for Traffic Monitoring

The city’s project is using the solution’s AI and lidar-based traffic monitoring as a reliable, non-intrusive multi-modal replacement for inductive-loop detectors, cameras and radars. Austin is utilizing the solution to assess traffic conditions and identify proactive safety measures that can be taken to help save lives.

At the East 7th Street & Springdale Road intersection, our Intelligent Infrastructure Solution creates a real-time 3D map to generate traffic data in a wide variety of lighting and weather conditions. It provides categorized monitoring data on pedestrians, cyclists, cars and trucks.

The solution uses our award-winning lidar sensors and Bluecity’s powerful artificial intelligence (AI) software. It can predict, diagnose and address road safety challenges, helping municipalities like Austin make informed decisions to take corrective action.

Austin Working to Achieve Vision Zero Goal

According to Jason JonMichael, Assistant Director, Austin Transportation Department, “Lidar-based solutions hold tremendous potential to protect personal identifiable information while continuing to help us to achieve our Vision Zero goal to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries on Austin streets.”

And if Elon feels like travelling, he can also check out some of the other Intelligent Infrastructure Solution deployments in Florida, Nevada, California, New Jersey, Missouri and Canada.

Elon is spot on that advanced technology can enhance traffic management. He should be heartened that AI – teamed with lidar – is already delivering a traffic monitoring solution that can help improve roadway efficiency and safety.

For more information on the Intelligent Infrastructure Solution, contact Velodyne Sales: 669.275.2526, [email protected]. Also, check out this video.