Modernizing our intersections 

The need to optimize intersections

According to the World Bank, 56% of the world’s population live in cities and the trend is expected to continue, with urban populations doubling in size by 2050. In cities across the United States, traffic congestion is a daily struggle for many, and the importance of efficient traffic management and the safety of our roads is paramount. While there are many contributing factors to overall road safety, intersections are one area that influence overall safety, both positively and negatively. 

Intersections serve as crucial junctions where multiple streams of traffic converge. Their proper functioning directly affects the overall flow of vehicles and pedestrians, helping ensure a smooth transportation system. Inefficiencies at intersections can lead to congestion, delays, and increased accident risks. Therefore, optimizing these areas should be a key priority for transportation authorities around the world.

With the advent of artificial intelligence and vehicle-to-everything communication, tools are available to help our intersections become smarter, safer, and more efficient. In this article, we will primarily focus on intersection safety, exploring possible safety solution capabilities and how the synergy of AI and V2X technology can help improve the safety and functioning of our intersections. 

Safety challenges at intersections

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has set forth an overarching vision for achieving zero fatalities and severe injuries within the US transportation system. With US traffic deaths reaching a 16-year high in 2021 with 42,915 people dying as a result of motor vehicle traffic crashes, a 10.5% increase from 2020, a solution is much-needed. Vulnerable road-user fatalities (i.e., pedestrians and pedalcyclists) are on the rise with pedestrian fatalities up 13% and pedalcyclist fatalities up 5% in 2021 compared to 2020. 

To properly explore improvements to intersection safety, we should understand the root causes and contributing factors that lead to intersection accidents. These involve both the intersection infrastructure itself and other contributing factors, such as:

• Distracted drivers: Distracted drivers, absorbed in their devices or diverted attention, present a dangerous risk at intersections, leading to preventable collisions. Their lack of focus amplifies the susceptibility of this crucial road point, heightening both the frequency and severity of accidents.
• Misjudgment of other road users: Intersections necessitate a heightened state of vigilance, as drivers should assess the timing and intentions of other vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists. Nonetheless, misjudgments frequently happen due to human error, resulting in accidents at intersections. 
• Poor visibility: Environmental factors can hamper visibility at intersections, exacerbating the risks for drivers. Factors such as heavy rain, fog, sun glare, or poorly designed roadway configurations can make it difficult for drivers to see traffic signals or approaching vehicles.
• Lack of infrastructure optimization: Intersection design and infrastructure plays a significant role in helping ensure safe traffic flow. However, aging infrastructure, improper lane markings, and outdated signal systems can contribute to confusion and accidents.
  

Intersection safety systems

There is a breadth of contributing factors for what makes intersections unsafe, so it could be naïve to expect any solution or system of solutions would prevent all known contributing factors or even prevent all accidents in the future. For purposes of this article, potential solutions should be expected to anticipate, prevent, and mitigate possible unsafe intersection conditions, including impending collisions among and between vehicles and vulnerable road users. Additionally, the solutions should contribute to addressing the above challenges that contribute to accidents and fatalities at intersections, and they should also be forward-thinking solutions. For instance, while autonomous vehicles are still being used only in specific consumer-related settings, current industry trends show that we can expect larger numbers of them on the roads in the future.

When building intersection safety systems, there are multiple components to consider: 

Multi-modal sensing: There are various sensors that can be used for real-time AI perception at intersections, like radar, cameras, and ultrasonics. By fusing multi-sensor data, systems can harness the complementary strengths of various sensors. The combined sensor data enables robust pedestrian detection, classification, and tracking capabilities, which leverage the accurate distance and velocity information along with rich visual context. 

Path prediction: Path prediction for intersection safety is another important component of the intersection safety system. This component anticipates the trajectories of vehicles and vulnerable road users (VRUs). Path prediction involves forecasting the trajectories that vehicles and pedestrians are likely to follow as they approach and navigate through an intersection. By anticipating their respective movements with sufficient accuracy, collisions could be prevented, and intelligent traffic management enabled.

Collision risk assessment: To reduce the likelihood of false warnings, there should be a set of minimum triggering criteria when determining which road users are at risk of collision. These criteria should consider factors such as vehicle speed, predicted VRU speed and direction, VRU type, collision probability, post-encroachment time, time to collision, and external variables such as prevailing weather conditions, work zones, vehicle size, impact angles, and time of day.

V2X communication: Vehicle-to-infrastructure V2X technology establishes communication channels between vehicles, vulnerable road users, and infrastructure elements such as roadside units, traffic management systems, and signal controllers at intersections. This interconnected communication system helps to enhance safety and deliver timely warning messages and alerts to road users.

Future vehicle-infrastructure collaboration

Currently, extensive collaborations between industries and universities are driving the development of V2X cooperative perception applications for autonomous vehicles. This innovative endeavor aims to harness sensor data from intersection infrastructure, effectively integrating it with data from connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). This symbiotic partnership facilitates cooperative perception, enabled by V2X communication, where vehicles and infrastructure share sensor information in real time.

As we peer into the future, the horizon holds immense promise. While only time will tell the true results, our aspiration should be nothing less than achieving zero fatalities on our roads. However, as a society, we could be doing ourselves a disservice if we aren’t taking advantage of available technologies to do what we can to attain our goal. The transformational potential of vehicle-infrastructure cooperative perception and smart intersections offers a modern, AI-driven traffic management system, which is a great step toward enhancing transportation safety, efficiency, and sustainability.

Download our full article  to learn more. 

The mass to micro future

The consumer industry’s evolution from a mass-market approach to a more nuanced micro-focus necessitates a fundamental shift in the way businesses make decisions. Future operations likely will require a transformation from mass, periodic, manual, and reactive decision-making to a more dynamic model that is continuous, automated, and predictive. This shift signifies a departure from traditional, hypothesis-led strategies, ushering in an era of data-driven, real-time adaptability.

Embracing this change is more than a strategic choice; it is also likely an important move for sustained relevance and growth in the rapidly changing consumer landscape. The journey toward a micro-focused approach requires a broad reevaluation of operational processes, leveraging technological advancements and insights from vast data pools. This evolution marks a paradigm shift that is increasingly in line with the industry’s future trajectory: moving those organizations that adapt to the forefront of consumer engagement and market innovation.

This path, while challenging, offers a significant opportunity for businesses to refine their agility, develop innovative strategies, and excel in their market offerings. The leaders in this new era will likely be those who can effectively integrate continuous, automated decision-making with agile, real-time execution. By doing so, they can navigate the complexities of today’s market and potentially set new benchmarks for success in an ever-evolving consumer industry.

Contacts