Lane-changing robots reduce traffic congestion in China

An army of robots is being used to regulate lanes and direct traffic on a notoriously congested road in Shenzhen, China.

Traffic police in Shenzhen have deployed an army of lane-changing robots along Shennan, a major road running east to west of the city, to ease rush-hour congestion by controlling the reversing lane, RT reported yesterday.

The lane-changing robot is a movable barrier that separates traffic into different lanes. Shennan Road is notoriously congested in the morning, with almost twice as many cars traveling west to east as going the other way.

Police found that congestion would ease if more lanes were opened for east-west traffic in the morning. “The police team directed traffic this way last December and congestion was significantly reduced,” Wang Le, head of the city’s traffic police department, told the South China Morning Post.

The system eliminates the need for traffic police to be present during long stretches of morning and afternoon rush hours. The technology has had a big impact, helping the morning rush hour end an hour earlier than usual.

Automated traffic control in China is not limited to cars. In Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, authorities have installed automated doors, similar to those found at subway stations, at pedestrian crossings to prevent jaywalking. The doors are directly connected to the traffic light system, opening and closing according to the color of the light.

According to VNE