New research shows that traffic lights taking action locally can improve global traffic.
By minimizing congestion, this method can save money, reduce emissions, and even calm down the anger of frustrated drivers on the road.
The new approach is to let traffic lights go with the flow, not to let the driver be dominated by timing signals.
In a working paper from the Santa Fe Institute in September, scientists reported that by measuring the inflow and outflow of vehicles at each intersection and coordinating the lights with their nearest neighbors, the entire system
"It's interesting --
This approach is adaptive and the system can respond, "said Gabor Orros, a mechanical engineer at Ann Arbor University of Michigan.
"This should be the case --
That's how we make the most of our existing systems.