Traffic Control Of The Future

Researchers Kurt Dresner and Peter Stone present a paper at the recent Autonomous Agents and Multi Agent Systems conference in New York which proposes an automated system where "cars reserve a time to pass through an intersection as they approach it and are then sped up or slowed down to ensure their arrival at exactly the right time. This allows traffic to enter the intersection from all directions simultaneously, eliminating the need for traffic lights and considerably reducing delays caused by stopping traffic." (Summary from Slashdot.)

The authors' website offers simulatin of how the system would work.

From the abstract: "Traffic congestion is one of the leading causes of lost productivity and decreased standard of living in urban settings. Recent advances in artificial intelligence suggest vehicle navigation by autonomous agents will be possible in the near future. In this paper, we propose a reservation-based system for alleviating traffic congestion, specifically at intersections, and under the assumption that the cars are controlled by agents."

Thanks to Chris Steins