3M and MicroTraffic have developed an artificial intelligence near-miss detection system to assess risks and proactively identify opportunities for intersection safety improvements. During the first phase of the pilot, 3M and MicroTraffic measured near-miss incidents at selected intersections across Austin to proactively identify opportunities for safety improvements. Near misses included potential incidents between vehicles or involving vulnerable road users like pedestrians, cyclists, and e-scooter riders. Based on the detected risks and data gathered, 3M and MicroTraffic provided recommendations for low-cost safety improvements—like high-visibility reflective treatments around traffic signals and on crosswalk markings—for each intersection. After the low-cost safety improvements were implemented, another round of data will be captured to determine how productive these countermeasures were in preventing incidents. Intersection safety analytic pilots like this ensure that the City of Austin remains an early adopter of innovation that can eliminate all serious injuries and fatal crashes on its streets.
Recently, the Smart Mobility Office partnered with Velodyne Lidar to test their lidar-based solution. Velodyne’s solution uses Lidar, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, as a method to detect all road users including vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists in real time. Velodyne’s Intelligent Infrastructure Solution will monitor traffic data at East 7th and Springdale and provide categorized monitoring data on pedestrians, cyclists, cars, and trucks. This intersection has also been identified in the High-Injury Network (HIN), which identifies streets in Austin with a relatively high number of serious injury and fatal crashes. The HIN is used to identify locations where engineering, education, or enforcement interventions should be prioritized to have the most impact in improving safety. Austin Transportation is interested in Lidar-based solutions because of the technology’s potential to protect personal identifiable information while still helping the Department collect important traffic data that will help the city achieve its Vision Zero goals.
TAPCO, Velodyne, 3M, and MicroTraffic are all partnering with Austin Transportation’s Smart Mobility Office to test their technologies. All three of these pilots will produce information that could help shape policy, educational programs, or changes to the city’s infrastructure that will help Austin reach its Vision Zero goals. The city believes data-driven solutions like these pilots can lead to improved safety outcomes.
