Traffic lights, while necessary to maintain the flow of traffic, also cause needless delays sometimes and increase air pollution with more carbon dioxide emissions. Thankfully, Google’s new AI is making things a little better.
This project by Google is called Green Light, in which the company has been analyzing traffic data taken from the highly popular Google Maps app and using AI algorithms to make tweaks at 70 intersections around the globe.
According to Google’s preliminary assessment of traffic data before and after implementing adjustments in the past year and this year, its AI-driven recommendations for optimizing traffic signals have successfully reduced the number of stops by up to 30% and emissions by 10%, benefiting 30 million vehicles each month.
Google has unveiled these initial findings today alongside updates to several projects aimed at leveraging its data and AI expertise to promote greater environmental sustainability.
The company is extending the fuel-efficient routing feature in Maps to India and Indonesia, which guides drivers along less congested or uphill routes. Additionally, Google is introducing flight-routing suggestions for air traffic controllers in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and northwest Germany to mitigate the formation of climate-altering contrails.
Google’s Project Green Light has been met with positive feedback thus far, but as the company discloses new operational details and announces plans for expansion into additional cities next year, it may attract more attention and scrutiny.
Google has indicated on its Project Green Light webpage that it anticipates ongoing development and refinement of results, with forthcoming publications expected to provide more comprehensive insights into the project.
