Cyberabad may soon get smart traffic signals

HYDERABAD: The traffic choked junctions of Cyberabad would soon be in for a makeover as Cyberabad traffic police are planning to use the real time traffic data provided by Google maps for superior junction traffic management. The traffic authorities are working with a start-up that has developed a software that uses Google Maps’ real time traffic updates to determine the traffic density on each of the roads of the junction and regulate the traffic light timing accordingly.

“The software is at a nascent stage and we are working to make it more robust,”  Vijay Kumar, DCP Cyberabad Traffic Police, said. This system will be different from the pre-timed traffic junctions.

“Usually all traffic signals are pre-timed junctions, which means every road on the junction will have say 30-45 seconds to cross ahead, irrespective of the traffic congestion in them. These are not proportional to the real time traffic requirement. This new software would be adaptive to the density and the timing,”  the DCP said.

It may be noted that Google Maps uses data from the traffic users itself by measuring the time taken from one location to another. During rush hours when the time taken increases, they reflect the same on their maps. It is a crowdsourced data of time taken by all commuters in the area at that point, making it more ‘adaptive’, note experts.

The project was put through a pilot for two months at the Gachibowli traffic signal, in October and November, where the real time traffic density was used from Google maps to regulate the lights. This is one signal where commuters have often raised a concern that the stretch from Biodiversity towards IIIT junction is given an equal amount of ‘green time’ despite those users being able to use the flyover above. Officials note that such discrepancies will be over once the software is put to use.