Using AI as a solution to Kenya’s traffic

NAIROBI, KENYA: Kenyan traffic seems like an ending puzzle, mostly with the rapid urban population growth that is currently estimated to project 3.92 per cent by 2020 according to world population review, with these individuals working at a distance it is expected that congestion of city areas will skyrocket.

This is also propagated by the growth in physical development that has exerted enormous pressure on the transport system with the burgeoning travel demand that overwhelms the limited public transport infrastructure.

Numerous solutions have been raised to curb the epidemic whose economic cost has been estimated to be Sh50 million per day in Nairobi only. However, today's elevating problems will require immediate modern solutions based on today’s technology.

In Nairobi alone, the government has spent over Sh437 million on cameras, automated traffic lights and modernised LED signs which later have disappointed by turning out to be a flop despite the colossal sum of public money invested.

Think about what the latest technology can offer, the Artificial Intelligence, which has the minimal human intervention also having minimal chances to cause an error making the roads have the utmost accuracy and precision thus easing the traffic and most importantly the frequent accidents. 

As expected, there is a possibility of introducing self-driven vehicles and taxis by 2020.

However, Artificial Intelligence being an open space to be discovered there is a need of us installing AI enabled traffic management system as part of our infrastructure by which traffic can be controlled by the external environment to that of human effort, which has proved inefficient over time.

The solution put forward will involve installing predictive AI in our computer vision-equipped cameras and setting up an intelligence traffic management system which works on the radar, this helps in analysing the traffic pattern, volume and the number of vehicles.

In most Kenyan roads, traffic is controlled manually leading to some errors blamed for delays and slow movements of vehicles.

If AI is installed it would pick live feeds, use sensors and even google maps to make a predictive algorithm and instruct automated traffic signals to work accordingly without an era.

With the increased population and economic growth, it is also expected that we will have increased car ownership which cannot be curbed, however, congestion in Kenya can certainly be managed in proper ways through adjusting various infrastructural reforms and major usage of Artificial Intelligence.

Technology is a development that keeps on growing giving opportunities that never existed before, AI as the newest technology that needs proper utilisation, Kenya as a country needs to adjust and find possible ways of utilization in order to catch up with the development pace.  

Similar usage of Artificial Intelligence in traffic management has been witnessed across the world in countries such as that in Kuala Lumpur which has effectively worked.