Artificial intelligence in transportation is widely regarded as a futuristic idea or concept that will change the way we move about in years to come.
Of course, given the nature of AI, there are relatively limited ways that it could integrate itself into our lives so quickly. However, many don’t know that it is already a key part of modern life, particularly in the transport that we already use every day.
The way that you use roads has been decided algorithmically for years now. For example, smart motorways use intelligent transport management programs to open and close lanes in order to relieve congestion and smooth out traffic.
These systems, in addition to actively changing speed limits throughout motorways, mean that long queues can be eliminated in little to no time.
Over time as artificial intelligence improves, these adjustments will only become more informed, efficient and smart to improve your daily commute.
Some railways systems are already highly driven by computing and continuous communications, which allow passengers to be informed of changes to their morning travels.
However, some systems take this further than others, such as in the case of the London Underground. With highly tailored transportation based on data and analytics, trains can be almost autonomous.
With the impending deep tube upgrade program and more innovations expected in coming years, your train ride could take place with no human interventions.
Air traffic control is an incredibly complicated and difficult job, most of which is now done by computers. Different aircraft need to keep a minimum distance from each other, which is often far too difficult for a human brain to track across thousands of different aircraft.
By taking part in the data-centric engineering programme, air traffic controllers are further putting air traffic control in the hands of computers and artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence for transportation is far more capable of handling such huge responsibilities and will remove a lot of the risks, especially when involved in human-centric air traffic control.