Forward of the ITS World Congress in Atlanta, TTi spoke with Christian U Haas, CEO of PTV Group, in regards to the energy of knowledge, the promise of AI, and why an built-in method is important for the cities of tomorrow.
This 12 months’s ITS World Congress carries the motto, “Deploying At the moment, Empowering Tomorrow.” The place do you see the most important start line?
“There’s a number of fact in that motto. Cities right this moment are grappling with air pollution, congestion, and the problem of making protected, inclusive, and sustainable mobility environments. But, the expertise obtainable to us has by no means been extra superior. Fashionable roadway sensors can now detect car trajectories, classify automobiles, register red-light violations, and even establish near-miss occasions – all in actual time. Superior site visitors administration instruments allow managers to reply swiftly to altering situations, minimizing delays, decreasing emissions, and enhancing total site visitors circulate. This type of expertise provides super potential to reshape mobility for the higher.”
Umovity’s Dynamic Multimodal Community Administration idea integrates operational planning, site visitors administration, and resolution assist
What function does AI play on this transformation?
“An important one. AI is what turns huge datasets into actionable insights. It permits real-time site visitors administration, predicts future bottlenecks, and drives effectivity. I’d go so far as to say that AI is the defining innovation within the mobility sector right this moment. Whereas many AI and machine studying instruments are nonetheless of their early levels, they’re creating quickly and can quickly turn out to be commonplace in transport planning and site visitors operations.”
How does AI affect your work at PTV Group and Econolite below the Umovity umbrella?
“AI is central to our growth technique. For instance, we apply AI to speed up and enhance the creation and calibration of transport fashions, making processes quicker and extra correct. Solely lately, we built-in AI-based worker estimations into PTV Model2Go – a quicker, extra scalable, and extra correct method than conventional strategies of accumulating and getting ready this knowledge. This spring, we launched Autoscope OptiVu, a high-definition video detection system. It makes use of cutting-edge AI and machine studying algorithms to assist next-generation site visitors administration and ITS purposes.”
“Umovity’s imaginative and prescient is a very linked mobility ecosystem – one which empowers cities to turn out to be smarter and greener”
Inform us extra in regards to the significance of connecting knowledge sources.
“In late 2024, we launched our Dynamic Multimodal Community Administration idea. This integrates operational planning, site visitors administration, and resolution assist into one unified technique. The purpose is to permit cities to coordinate all modes of transportation – public transit, strolling, biking, shared mobility, and linked and autonomous automobiles.
“By combining real-time, model-based, and historic knowledge – from detectors, sign controllers, floating automobile knowledge, and extra – we give cities a whole view of their mobility panorama. AI then helps make sense of this info, supporting dynamic planning and enabling quicker responses to all mobility challenges.”
So, the way forward for mobility is not only about expertise, however about integration?
“Precisely. Integration is vital. By breaking down silos between techniques and modes of transport, cities achieve the instruments to higher reply to disruptions, cut back congestion, and plan extra sustainably. Our imaginative and prescient is a very linked mobility ecosystem – one which empowers cities to turn out to be smarter, greener, and extra responsive in how they safely transfer folks and items.”
This text first appeared within the August situation of TTi