Smart Traffic Lights Know When Pedestrians Want to Cross the Street

Researchers in Austria developed a new pedestrian traffic light that “recognizes” the intention of folks to cross the street.
 
Mounted cameras cover a 26-by-16-foot area, and are able to distinguish the waiting walkers from mere passersby.
 
“It requires one second to estimate the intention—after two seconds the estimation becomes reliable,” according to Horst Possegger of the Institute for Computer Graphics and Vision at Graz University of Technology.
 
On behalf of the humans it serves, the system signals the pedestrian light controller, which determines when the lights should change. Just like a traditional push-button method.
 
Except this time, you don’t have to touch a germ-infested, bird-poop-covered box.
 
“Using the current configurations, our system signals that wish to cross three to four seconds before the button is pushed,” Possegger boasted.
 
The language of the green “walk” and red “don’t walk” signals are universal; no matter where you go in the world, you’re likely to find some variation of the standard hand/man.
 
Also universal: The impatience of people waiting to cross the road. (And, as TU Graz pointed out, the hilarious need to trigger the green phase as you walk past, “just for fun.”)
 
Using camera tracking, however, eliminates the need for jaywalking or pranksters.
 
Plus, it optimizes the flow of motorized traffic.
 
“The green phase can be extended in the case of large groups of persons, who require more time to cross the road,” Possegger said in a statement.
 
“And if persons leave the waiting area before the lights have turned to green, that is also passed on to the lights,” he continued. “The traffic lights subsequently don’t switch to green and there are no unnecessary waiting times for motorized traffic.”
 
Local firm Günther Pichler GmbH will replace push-button lights with the new camera system at select Vienna locations by the end of 2020 for primary testing.

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