Events

Full Details

REGISGRATION NOW CLOSED

Time: 12pm-1pm

The IHE Southern Branch would like to invite you to their next online CPD webinar on Wednesday 8th May 2024 on ‘Autonomous Traffic Control and Simulation: deploying AI to advance mobility management’ presented by Aston University.

Details

In this talk, Aston University will discuss their latest contribution to traffic management technology – a customisable and privacy-preserving solution that harnesses CCTV images, deep reinforcement learning, and advanced simulation techniques to optimize traffic flow and improve urban mobility.

Their AI signal control system, developed using deep reinforcement learning technology, depends on live video input from intersections to optimise traffic signal operation in real time by. This system has demonstrated significant improvements in traffic throughput and delay minimization compared to existing technology. It introduces customisable traffic management objectives, allowing for real-time tailoring to specific needs such as prioritising public transport, emergency vehicles, pedestrians near schools, or trucks near construction sites. Importantly, this customisation is achieved without explicit road user recognition or the need for specialized detection hardware, preserving citizen privacy.

To ensure the effectiveness of their AI, they have developed Traffic3D, a dedicated simulator that utilizes Graph Neural Networks to autonomously generate traffic models of urban areas from video footage. It also facilitates the synthesis of traffic datasets indistinguishable from CCTV recordings. This comprehensive tool supports both human and AI operator training, enabling informed decision-making and policy development in the field of traffic management.

This work is currently being trialled in a set of locations in the Midlands and has received attention form a variety of media outlets, including BBC News, Deutsche Welle, Radio New Zealand, the Highways Magazine and others.

Presenter – Dr Maria Chli (MEng Computing & PhD Intelligent Systems, Imperial College London)

Dr Maria Chli is a Reader in Applied Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at Aston University. She is also the Director of Aston’s Computer Science Industry Club, driving application of cutting-edge research in collaboration with the industry.

With over 17 years of experience, Maria’s research focus lies in intelligent agents and multi-agent systems. Her core work involves modelling complex systems and optimizing them through the fusion of multi-agent system techniques with machine and deep learning. This entails employing data analytics to discover the characteristics of the entities and systems being modelled and match the behaviour of the simulation to that of the real world. She often employs simulation to support decision-making for intelligent agents in a multitude of settings e.g. smart cities, health, fintech.

Maria’s team’s ground-breaking work has been recognised through a diverse portfolio of fund awards (EU, Innovate UK, Royal Society) and success in research competitions (e.g., PowerTAC). Notably, their contributions to autonomous traffic control attracted the attention of transport stakeholders. They are being implemented in several real-life transport settings, and have received widespread media coverage, including features on BBC News, Deutsche Welle, and other outlets.

You must register to attend. 

In association with