United States. Department of Transportation. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
Doi
Abstract
With research funding from the Traffic21 Institute\u2019s Mobility21 University Transportation Center Program, Dr. Stephen Smith, Director of the Intelligent Coordination and Logistics Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University, developed the Scalable Urban Traffic Control (Surtrac), the world\u2019s first decentralized smart adaptive traffic signal system. This system significantly improves traffic throughput, trip delays and pollution along congested roads controlled by traffic lights. The system applies artificial intelligence to traffic signals equipped with cameras or radars adapting in realtime to dynamic traffic patterns of complex urban grids, experienced in neighborhoods like East Liberty in the City of Pittsburgh. Dr. Smith worked with the City of Pittsburgh, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (regional MPO), Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and neighborhood groups on a pilot deployment of Surtrac, which resulted in a 40% reduction in vehicle wait time and a 20% reduction in emissions. The original deployment of nine intersections in 2012 has expanded to 50 intersections and is now funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)\u2019s Advanced Transportation Congestion Management Technology Deployment (ATCMTD), and PennDOT grants for an additional 150 intersections in Pittsburgh. With two patents from the UTC research, Dr. Smith\u2019s Pittsburgh-based company Rapid Flow Technologies has created eight jobs and currently has commercial deployments in Atlanta, GA; Portland, ME and Needham and Quincy MA
