AI (Artificial Intelligence) in Transportation
AI (Artificial Intelligence) in Transportation
In
Transportation
INTRODUCTION
Index 3
AI IN TRANSPORTATION
INDUSTRY
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Introduction
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• Tesla's self-driving team amasses lots of data too— as much as 1.5 petabytes
of data that consist of 1,000,000 ten-second videos and 6,000,000,000 objects,
each of which is annotated with velocity, depth and bounding boxes.
• This isn't to say that Tesla relies solely on manual data annotation. Rather, it
improves the annotation process by combining human review with auto-
annotation tools.
• Al systems are limited to self-driving cars-they're also used in trucks, buses,
and airport taxes, with the innovations having a huge impact on Al in logistics
and the supply chain in general.
• Indeed, Mckinsey. has predicted that self-driving trucks will reduce operating
costs by some 45%.
• Environmental impact will also be greatly reduced.
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Traffic Detection (and Traffic
Signs)
• There are thousands of traffic lights in the US alone.
• And while you might think that stopping when a light turns to red is a simple
process, the fact that each year in
• the US some 1,000 people are killed needlessly by vehicles running a red light
means that the whole thing is a very risky, dangerous and even complex
game.
• It's a game with tragic consequences, too, with over 50% of those deaths
accounted for by passengers or drivers who didn't run the red light.
• The problem is that the traffic light system itself might be perfect, but the
humans behind the wheel aren't always perfect. Mistakes happen, sometimes
drivers run a red light-and accidents occur.
• The solution to this terrible problem can be found in autonomous vehicles that,
alongside smart cities, can
• prevent those deaths.
• Indeed, automakers are putting the traffic signal issue at the front and centre of 9
their self-driving cars capabilities.
Pedestrian Detection
• Pedestrian detection is actually a key problem in Computer
Vision and Pattern Recognition, because pedestrians can be
super unpredictable in the context of road traffic. They're so
unpredictable that they pose one of the greatest threats to the
success of self-driving cars
• Such a system would certainly help self-driving cars to swerve
dangerous situations, and potentially massively reduce road
accidents.
• To begin the task of identifying and visualising pedestrians,
computer vision systems use bounding boxes.
• To detect pedestrians, different types of features have been
used, including motion-based features, texture-based features,
shape-based features, and gradient-based features.
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Traffic Flow Analysis
• The flow of traffic impacts a country's economy for the better or worse,
and it also impacts road safety.
• Traffic congestion costs money and time, it causes stress to the drivers
and passengers, and it also contributes to global warming.
• With better traffic flow, a country's economy can grow better, and the
safety of its road user's is improved immeasurably.
• With this in mind, it's no surprise that Artificial Intelligence is now paving
the way for better traffic flow analysis using machine learning and
computer vision. Al can help to reduce bottlenecks and eradicate choke-
points that are otherwise clogging up our roads-and our economy.
• Thanks to the advancements of computer vision, drone and camera-
based traffic flow tracking and estimation are now possible.
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Computer Vision-Powered
Parking Management
• Sensors are installed to monitor the parking lot for any empty spaces.
Whenever a vehicle is parked in a space, the sensor is able to calculate the
distance to its underpart.
• But because a sensor can't scan license plates, cameras, parking meters and
computer vision need to get involved.
• Cameras are thus installed that use computer vision to identify spots with no
meters. Using automatic number-plate technology, they spot vehicles that are
parked, as well as measure the amount of time they are parked for.
• Computer vision can then use data to update in realtime the inventory of all
empty and available spaces.
• Drivers can then access the map on their mobile device to check out all the
available parking spots.
• This saves huge amounts of time, and is especially useful in overcrowded
parking lots, such as airports.
• This system is already in use, too, with towns and cities using computer
vision in Parking Guidance and Information (PGI) systems for visual parking 12
lot occupancy detection.
Automatic Traffic Incident
Detection
• Traffic incident detection is one of the most heavily researched areas of ITPs (Intelligent
Transportation Systems) and Al transportation in general.
• After all, for as long as there's traffic, there will always be incidents-and there will always
be hold-ups.
• This is problematic for those tasked with keeping our roads clear, because the ultimate
aim is to ensure that the traffic flows with the least amount of
• disruption possible.
• For years, video surveillance has been instrumental when it comes to tracking road
networks and intersections. It offers Traffic Management Centres a real-time view of
incidents and the flow of traffic, allowing those in charge to respond as quickly as
possible.
• However, humans are limited and can't be monitoring every single camera at the same
time. Because the task has always been manual, incidents aren't always detected
straight away, and as a consequence holdups are prolonged.
• This is where Automatic Incident Detection comes in.
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Automated License Plate
Recognition
• Automated license plate recognition involves the use of
computer vision camera systems attached to highway
overpasses and street poles to capture a license plate
number, as well as the location, date and time.
• Once the image has been captured, the data is then fed into
a central server.
• Automated license plate recognition can use new camera
systems designed specifically for this purpose, or it can use
existing CCTV, as well as road-rule enforcement cameras.
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Driver Monitoring
• Each year, there are around 56,000 road accidents due to sleepiness and fatigue in
the USA and as many as 1,500 deaths.
• As per those kinds of statistics, the UK government identified driver fatigue as "one
of the main areas of driver behaviour that needs to be addressed."
• Personal responsibility has to come into it, but as those damning statistics show, it's
not enough.
• Human error will not be eradicated by asking drivers to drive more carefully.
• Computer vision has now been added to car cabins for the purpose of better, safer
driver monitoring. The technology, which uses face detection and head pose
estimation to look out for things like drowsiness and emotional recognition, can
prevent thousands of crashes and deaths each year.
• This is really important because many drivers don't like to admit when they are
fatigued, or that feeling a bit drowsy will impact their ability to drive. Al-driven tech
can alert a driver whenever their driving is taking a major hit due to fatigue, and can
advise them to pull over and take a rest.
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Al In Transportation Industry:
Final Thoughts
• Artificial intelligence in transportation is leveraging important advanced
technology, such as big data in transportation for improved safety and
machine learning for greater efficiency, so that towns and cities—as well as
smart cities—are able to reduce the number of road accidents, improve the
flow of traffic, and even bring criminals to justice.
• Indeed, when you're able to address all the key issues that are blighting
the transportation industry, such as huge numbers of needless deaths,
bottlenecks and damaged roads, with the likes of big data and machine
learning in transportation, safety and efficiency improve dramatically
• Of course, we're only at the exciting frontier. There is still more to come. As
the technology continues to improve, the hope is that more smart cities will
appear around the world, boosting worldwide operational efficiency,
enhancing sustainability and making our roads, highways and intersections
safer and better for all.
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