‘Radelaide’ gets smarter following Cisco investment

Sensors at the intersection of Grenfell and Pulteney Streets in Adelaide

Cisco is investing $1 million in smart city technology for Adelaide to help cut traffic congestion and create the foundations for the rollout of autonomous vehicles on busy roads.

Under a pilot with the Government of South Australia and City of Adelaide, Cisco said the technology measures the dwell time and queue length of vehicles as they wait at an intersection; a key element of congestion monitoring. It also calculates rolling averages across the day though a customised dashboard and a suite of metrics that show how well the traffic light sequences are operating at an intersection.

Under the first phase of the project, six sensors will be set up at the busy intersection of Grenfell and Pulteney. The sensors will gather intersection-approach traffic information such as location and speed of vehicles, as well as pedestrians. Using this data, tailored algorithms recommend traffic light intervals to improve traffic and pedestrian-crossing flow.

A second phase will involve an assessment of whether the same infrastructure can be applied to quickly and accurately determine the location and movements of autonomous vehicles. This is critical to being able to manage, direct and control these vehicles, Cisco said.

If the trials are successful, other intersections in Adelaide will be selected to potentially test and scale the solution across the city, followed by a national roll out.

This latest internet-of-things (IoT) initiative follows the unveiling of a plan last year between the University of Adelaide and five local councils to transform Adelaide into a smart city.

The university is working with the City of Prospect and other local councils to use low-band WiFi and other technologies to gather information about the use of public spaces so they can be better managed and maintained.   

Under the Connected Places program, a linked series of sensors will provide useful data from Adelaide’s northern, western and eastern suburbs. Other local councils involved in the initiative are Burnside, Campbelltown, Playford, and Port Adelaide-Enfield.

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Follow Byron Connolly on Twitter: @ByronConnolly