For example, the university currently has a project underway with the city to survey street conditions, roadway markings, and signage on a regular basis, using inexpensive cameras. “Good lane markings are useful for autonomous vehicle lane following,” says Chris Hendrickson, the director of the Traffic21 research institute at CMU.
Over the past five years, the university has also helped the city equip fifty streetlights with sensors, antennas, and wireless connections that adapt signal patterns based on traffic flow rather than fixed schedules. According to Pittsburgh’s Smart Cities application, traffic wait time has improved by 40 percent and emissions have been cut an estimated 20 percent in neighborhoods with the special technology. Some of these traffic lights are also able to communicate with connected vehicles about traffic speed and light status, using dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) radios. “Self-driving vehicles and the public will be significant beneficiaries over time,” says Rajkumar.
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