Arabic version: بريزبن تختبر إشارات مرور مدعومة بالذكاء الاصطناعي على طرق رئيسية

According to ABC News, Brisbane City Council will trial artificial intelligence-assisted traffic signalling on two major roads from early next year, describing it as the first trial of its kind in Australia. The $15 million program will run for six months at 22 intersections on Logan Road and 15 intersections along the Kelvin Grove Road corridor.

The system will replace the phase-based traffic-light approach that has been widely used since the 1950s. Council transport chair Ryan Murphy said the technology would sit on existing infrastructure “like a top hat”. Cameras will identify pedestrians, cyclists, cars, trucks and public transport, while the system assesses traffic volumes and queue lengths to calculate traffic-light sequences.

Murphy said the technology would learn over time and suggest interventions to operators. It could also adapt for weather conditions and major events, including football games. He said a human would remain involved in operations, while faces and number plates would be blurred and collected data would stay in Brisbane rather than being sent offshore.

The council says the system could cut average travel times by up to 15 per cent and reduce rear-end crashes by 12 per cent. After the trial, the council will decide whether to extend the technology across its network of 1,000 intersections. Murphy said council would set priorities for individual corridors, which could include pedestrian movement in the CBD or freight movement during the day. RACQ welcomed the initiative, while Labor Opposition leader Jared Cassidy said it was not a complete solution to Brisbane’s congestion problem.