Connected Signals, a provider of predictive real-time traffic signal information, has launched its Signal Priority System product suite for smart cities.
SPS is a proprietary vehicle-to-infrastructure technology that is a cloud-based, centralized system connecting vehicles to traffic signals, and providing prioritization of buses, pedestrians, emergency vehicles, and others.
Connected Signals says this fresh approach capitalizes on existing traffic management infrastructure and cellular data, rather than requiring dedicated roadside equipment.
This makes deployment dramatically easier and more cost-efficient for cities, provides flexibility to the existing traffic network, and supports expansion to future applications such as high-occupancy vehicle preference and autonomous vehicle programs.
SPS also provides dramatic time savings for cities and can be deployed city-wide or fleet-wide “in a matter of weeks”, as opposed to years with traditional solutions, says the company.
It adds that SPS lets municipalities rapidly and affordably provide a wide range of signal priority applications, ranging from transit priority to emergency vehicles pre-emption.
There is no need for infrastructure modifications that are prohibitively expensive to install and maintain, that take years to deploy, and that may be obsolete before deployment is complete.
Being cloud-based makes SPS future-proof: new features and improvements can be delivered by software update rather than through expensive hardware maintenance at each intersection.
SPS can also work alongside existing or planned deployments to offer immediate service and coverage extensions as needed.
Matt Ginsberg, CEO and co-founder of Connected Signals, says: “The need for smarter, safer, and more efficient traffic systems drive our efforts to create flexible and innovative V2I solutions like SPS.
“Our goal is to reduce 12.5 percent of the 1.7 trillion pounds of carbon attributable to urban transportation.
“Technology like our Signal Priority System can achieve this goal, can work everywhere and be customized for specific situations, and it can also ease the frustrations of all commuters dealing with traffic congestion– whether using mass transit or driving, walking or cycling.”
Connected Signals’ SPS is software-extensible, so private and public vehicles running the application, such as emergency medical services vehicles and snowplows, can be given enhanced priority to help municipalities maximize throughput in ways that are currently impossible.
SPS can also provide vehicle operators with speed recommendations and other information to directly manage traffic flow. Cities can use Connected Signals’ SPS technology for general traffic management applications or to target specific objectives.
These objectives include diminishing transit vehicle delays, optimizing traffic flow, and reducing carbon emissions. The technology can also be deployed to assist pedestrians and cyclists.
