[ 2015-04-03 ]

Gadget which turns all traffic lights green trialled in UK
A device which switches all red traffic lights to
green has been launched in Newcastle to prevent
cars from ever needing to stop.

The pioneering technology is being tested ahead of
trials of driverless vehicles, which would be
linked to traffic lights so that fully-automated
convoys could pass quickly through urban areas.

The new gadget, which attaches to the windscreen
like a Sat Nav, detects traffic lights from around
100 metres away and requests priority so that they
switch to green as soon as the car arrives. It
also tells drivers of the speed they should be
driving to make sure they always hit a green light
in the event of traffic.

Currently the ground-breaking system is being
trialled by the North East Ambulance patient
transport service, who are hoping it will improve
safety, create a smoother ride for patients and
cut fuel bills.

Although it is only being tested in a small area
of Newcastle City Centre, developers from
Newcastle University are planning to role it out
across the city in coming years, and are hoping to
fit goods lorries and taxis with the gadget to
ease congestion and cut pollution.

And the Highways Agency is considering a scheme to
allow driverless freight vehicles to travel the
six miles between Nissan in Sunderland and Port of
Tyne at night, using the new technology to pass
quickly through a series of green lights.

For the first wave of the pilot, 20 traffic lights
have been fitted with the Compass4D technology at
key junctions in Newcastle City Centre and
fourteen vehicles have been equipped with the
priority technology.

Phil Blythe, Professor of Transport at Newcastle
University said: “This is the first step towards
driverless cars. If we can manage the traffic
better and get cars talking to traffic lights and
each other on the road, then that is a big step
towards automation.

“One of the key things we are going to see over
the next few years is platooning, particularly of
freight, and when a platoon hits the traffic
lights, it will go straight through, to avoid
being split up.

“I am pretty certain that we will see driverless
cars on the roads within the next decade. We have
already got cars which have lane sensors to stop
drifting, cruise control, assisted braking and
cornering. So the car does a lot of the driving
already.”

Ray King, manager of Urban Traffic Management
Control centre based at Newcastle University, has
been monitoring the new system from a series of
CCTV cameras since it launched at the beginning of
March.

“We’re trying to make sure that it is not
making the traffic worse for other users. There
would be no point doing this if it mean the roads
were a nightmare for the cars that weren’t
fitted with it. But so far it doesn’t seem to be
causing any problems.

“It’s early days, but some ambulance drivers
have said it has cut journey times by around 10
per cent.

“The NHS vehicles are transporting patients to
hospital for treatment and they don’t want to be
held up in traffic unnecessarily, delaying
appointments for other patients and wasting
taxpayer’s money.

“If we can speed up their journey, giving them
priority at lights where appropriate, then it not
only reduces fuel bills and delays but also
improves patient care.”

Paul Liversidge, North East Ambulance Service
Chief Operating Officer, added: “This new system
has the potential to further improve how
efficiently we run the service, ensuring we get to
our patients on time and they get to their
appointments on time and reducing our carbon
footprint.”

Newcastle University is also trialling the
technology in its electric cars which are fitted
with eye trackers and a bio-belt to monitor driver
behaviour when using the device, and make sure it
is not a distraction.

There are also plans in the pipeline to allow
older people to carry smart cards which would link
up to the traffic light system and give them more
time to cross the road at pedestrian crossings.

Source - The Telegraph

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