AI-powered traffic management to become reality in Chandigarh by February 2022

With the Integrated Command Control Centre (ICCC) for traffic management inching closer to being fully operationalised, city residents will soon witness Artificial Intelligence (AI) in action. For citizens, this means that traffic lights will work in tandem with road conditions to optimise the flow of traffic.

This will be made possible through the Adaptive Traffic Control System (ATCS), a key feature of the ICCC, that has been set up at 40 junctions with the heaviest traffic volume. The key technology used is AI.

With the help of smart cameras and sensors installed by the roadside, the system will monitor individual traffic lanes, number of vehicles and calculate the traffic light duration required to minimise traffic logjams.

Chandigarh Smart City Limited is implementing the project through Bharat Electronics Limited. On Friday, CSCL showcased the working of the system, which has been scaled-up gradually over the past one-and-a-half-months. It has already been installed at the Tribune Chowk to good results.

“The system will become fully operational in February 2022. Once the ICCC, which is under construction at Sector 17, is ready, the facility will become fully operational,” said Anil Garg, additional chief executive officer, CSCL. Currently, the system is being run from the MC office.

NP Sharma, chief general manager, CSCL, said, “This AI-based system will reduce the travel time within the city. This will reduce the waiting time at intersections and also save fuel wastage due to idling at intersections.”

Host of services under ICCC

The ICCC integrates data from different sensors, including cameras, to manage a number of functions like traffic, security, delivery of MC services, disaster management, parking, etc. When started at the Tribune Chowk, the number of traffic violations halved within a day.

In addition to the ATCS, the ICCC also includes CCTV surveillance, Integrated Traffic Management System (ITMS), e-challan system, Public Address System (PAS) and Dynamic Messaging System (DMS).

“There will be phase-wise integration with ICCC of the smart parking, public bike sharing, ITS, SWM, utility management, meteorological department, e-governance solution, etc,” said Sharma.

For ICCC, a police command and control centre, and SCADA for MC, a dedicated fibre network (250km) has been laid. CCTVs are being installed at 267 locations.

“Over 2,000 smart cameras will be installed to serve different requirements,” said Sharma, adding that 1,700 had already been installed. These are gradually being made online and operationalised. In addition to road junctions, cameras are being installed at waterworks, parks, government hospitals, community centres, parking locations and schools.