IOT and Big Data In Smart Traffic Management
A Smart City is the one in which citizens live a smart life while maintaining sustainability and causing least harm to the environment. Information and communication technology (ICT) help build Smart Cities. Reduction in cost and resource consumption is integral to the ideal Smart City plan. And, all this is impossible without this offshoot of ICT – the IOT technology that can offer governing bodies with real-time solutions for above mentioned current urban challenges.
What is Internet Of Things
The IoT is the next big thing in technology growing at a rapid pace. Statistic projects that by 2025 the number of connected devices around the world is set to grow up to a staggering 75 billion devices. The interconnection via the Internet of computing devices embedded in everyday objects, enabling them to send and receive data.
Big Data Analytics
All these devices generate data that is so humongous that it will need hi-tech cloud applications to store, process and mine. Big Data Analytics interprets all these unstructured data. With the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning, big data delivers better analytics each time. Any smart city project will use big data to capture, store, process and analyze a large amount of data generated by several sources. Big Data Analytics enables better decision-making process.
Traffic Management
Traffic management is one of the biggest infrastructure hurdles developing countries face today. Developed countries and smart cities are already using IoT and Big Data to minimize traffic-related issues. Increase in car usage has caused immense amounts of traffic congestion. Several countries are overcoming this traffic bottleneck by fetching information from CCTV feeds. This information contains vehicle-related data and it is transferred to city traffic management centers to help in the smooth traffic run. Better-organized traffic system can better flow of vehicles on the road. All this eventually translates to lower run times, proper utilization of natural resources (gas) and less pollution. Emittance of gases is the largest during stop-start driving that happens in spots where traffic is regulated by lights. Hence, if you go for smart traffic, this helps in pollution reduction throughout the entire city. Smart parking sensors, smart streetlights, smart highways, and smart accident assistance are other also part of traffic management systems.
Traffic lights
Traffic lights use real-time data feed to smooth traffic load. Sensors mounted at strategic places can use IoT technology to gather data about high traffic junctions and areas. This helps divert vehicles from these places. Big Data can analyze this information further and figure out alternative routes as well as better traffic signaling to ease congestion. Similarly, road-side lights can also work according to weather sensors mounted on them. Roadside light sensors can pick up these signals and turn on and off according to the time.
Smart Parking
Parking has become an Achilles heel in the urban planning scenario. Lack of parking spaces, as well as parallel parking, has heightened traffic snarls at important junctions in cities. IoT-based sensors in parking lots can give real-time information about empty spots to cars looking for a parking space. Such sensors have already been installed in cities like Paris, Kansas, etc. They have all seen remarkable results with a reduction in parking issues observed in a span of a year.
Smart Assistance
Road accidents are one of the top causes of deaths across the world. However, what adds to this gloomy number is untimely help and assistance to victims of such accidents. CCTV and sensors on roads can help in locating accident spots and communicating these to the nearest Emergency Assistance.
Challenges
All pros become more quantifiable with cons. While IoT and Big Data present a path-breaking opportunity in smart traffic management and solutions, they also have some limitations. Firstly, current cities already suffer from infrastructure issues which could pose problems when implementing IOT technology. Secondly, IoT has always been a victim of hackers. Data privacy also needs lawmakers and engineers to be looped in. Blockchain may have a solution for all the security issues plaguing IoT.
Conclusion
Traffic is a crucial aspect that determines a city’s livability factor and efficiency status. As smart cities evolve and increase in number in the coming years, IoT and Big Data will play a key role in the development and integration of their services and infrastructure. As both these technologies evolve, other issues besides traffic like waste management, energy conservation, etc. will greatly benefit. Read the full article