International. In the U.S. state of Iowa, the city of Dubuque has launched a road management system based on artificial intelligence (AI) video analytics, created in collaboration between the city administration, Milestone Systems, and Vaidio.
The proposal aims to optimise urban traffic, increase the safety of citizens and optimise the operation of road infrastructure.
The system integrates Milestone Systems' XProtect video management platform with Vaidio's machine vision technology. From the use of more than 1,300 cameras already installed in the city, a solution was developed that allows traffic to be monitored in real time, incidents to be detected in an automated way and to adjust traffic lights based on data.
"We wanted to make the most of the investment we already had in video infrastructure, not only to improve vehicular flow, but also to strengthen citizen safety and speed up emergency response," said Dave Ness, Dubuque's Traffic Engineering Manager. "Thanks to Milestone's open-platform video technology, we have been able to incorporate advanced analytics tools and create a truly intelligent road management system."
According to Milestone, the solution has made it possible to reduce travel times, increase emergency response capacity and reduce environmental impact, due to the shorter amount of time that vehicles remain stationary with the engine running. In addition, the system tracks pedestrians and cyclists, and allows you to switch between analytical functions according to the needs of each observation point.
The project also made it possible to adjust AI models to the local requirements of the city. "Working together with Milestone and Dubuque allowed us to fine-tune our AI models to respond to the city's unique road challenges," said David Jenkins, Vice President of Software Architecture at Vaidio.
The experience gained was incorporated into Project Hafnia, an initiative launched by Milestone together with NVIDIA last March. "The use of AI video analytics in the City of Dubuque applied to road management aligns perfectly with Milestone's broader innovation initiatives, such as Project Hafnia," said Thomas Jensen, CEO of Milestone Systems. According to the company, the project aims to create Artificial Intelligence models for transportation, based on real data collected in urban applications.
The company indicated that Dubuque's experience can be considered by other cities that face similar challenges. In Latin America, where several urban centers deal with high rates of traffic jams and pressure on the transportation system, the implementation of such solutions could provide useful information for decision-making, avoiding the need to completely replace existing infrastructure.
