Toyota and the Alan Turing Institute reckon they can predict and avoid traffic jams using AI

The Toyota Mobility Foundation and the Alan Turing Institute have developed a new project that aims to make life easier for people, through the prediction and even avoidance of awkward traffic jams.

Snappily titled “Optimization of flow in mobility systems with artificial intelligence (AI)”, the project was born from the need to change the way we travel in urban areas – as a result of increasingly congested streets.

The Alan Turing Institute and the Toyota Mobility Foundation aim to promote a transition from the current static systems of traffic management, to new optimised systems, which are much more dynamic and can be managed in real time.

CEO of Alan Turing Institute Alan Wilson, said: “Our vision is that urban planners and operators should have a system that shows the data in real time to analyse the operation of the city, integrating both mathematical and computer models, as well as automatic learning models, in order to simulate different scenarios and to offer them information when behaviour patterns change. The wide availability of data and new technologies can make transport patterns change drastically in a very short time. We hope that this will lead to improvements in the areas of health and mobility of urban populations, as well as to higher levels of safety and efficiency in traffic management. ”

Ryan Klem, Program Director of the Toyota Mobility Foundation, added: “Apart from the fact that special attention has been paid to artificial intelligence systems inside the vehicle, we are especially excited about the opportunity to work with the Turing Institute. To apply data analysis and AI to a complementary facet of mobility: infrastructure. We believe that mobility is essential to promote social progress and improve the lives of people around the world and this project represents an important step forward to achieve a better society and help achieve harmony between all forms of mobility for all citizens. “