Re Pittsburgh's new artificially intelligent stoplights could mean no more pointless idling

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Bob Frankston" <Bob19-0501 () bobf frankston com>
> Date: October 23, 2016 at 7:54:41 PM EDT
> To: dave () farber net, "     'ip'" <ip () listbox com>
> Cc: "John Gilmore" <gnu () toad com>
> Subject: RE: [IP] Re Pittsburgh's new artificially intelligent stoplights could mean no more pointless idling
>
> Went to https://www.surtrac.net/. This seems to be a CMU research project focused on congested city roads. There is a 
> longer article at https://goo.gl/MJ2xbq which also mentions the Pittsburgh/Uber efforts.
>  
> It would be nice if drivers (or their vehicles) could get access to this data so they can intelligently plan their 
> trips instead of being corralled. That might already part of the plan. Will Waze start gaming these lights?
>  
>  
> From: Dave Farber [mailto:farber () gmail com] 
> Sent: Sunday, October 23, 2016 18:41
> To: ip <ip () listbox com>
> Subject: [IP] Re Pittsburgh's new artificially intelligent stoplights could mean no more pointless idling
>  
>
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: John Gilmore <gnu () toad com>
> Date: October 23, 2016 at 6:19:41 PM EDT
> To: dave () farber net
> Cc: "ip" <ip () listbox com>
> Subject: Re: [IP] Pittsburgh's new artificially intelligent stoplights could mean no more pointless idling
>
> Steel City now boasts 50 intersections whose stoplights are running
> artificial intelligence software known as Surtrac that reduces wait
> times on empty or lightly-traveled roads.
>  
> Since Surtrac was first introduced in 2012, the Rapid Flow team
> estimates the AI stoplights have cut emissions by 21%, travel times
> by 25%, and idling times by 40%.
>
> Clearly there is a disconnect here for numerate readers.  You can't
> improve any emissions, travel times or idling times on empty roads.
> There aren't any emissions, travel times, or idling times there.
>
> And on lightly traveled roads, even a massive improvement there only
> improves overall travel by e.g. 1%, since most of the traffic is not
> on lightly traveled roads.  So they are either mis-describing the
> method, or presenting bogus statistics.
>
> It's been pretty standard for decades in many cities to use
> sensor-driven stoplights that keep the main road flowing unless and
> until a few cars stack up waiting to cross the main road.  That can be
> done with artificial stupidity, with no need to deploy the expensive
> artificial intelligence buzzword.
>
>
> the other stoplights use a proprietary set of algorithms to adjust
> their timing accordingly.
>
> Proprietary is not the same as better; usually the reverse.
>
>
> The magic of Surtrac is that it bundles each stoplight into an
> intelligent network "that moves all the vehicles it knows about
> through the intersection in the most efficient way possible," Rapid
> Flow CEO Steve Smith said ...  
>
> Yeah, it's "magic" and there is NO more efficient way to do it other
> than to buy their proprietary software.  They have found the one
> absolutely most efficient way -- there are no improvements that can be
> made to their system.  Let me guess, their CEO came up through the
> sales department, not through engineering.
>
>    John
>
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