The Ipoh City Council (MBI) is making huge technological leaps to advance the city under the Ipoh Smart City Action Plan. One of the things the council is implementing is traffic lights powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to combat traffic congestion, in collaboration with Telekom Malaysia (TM).
MBI and TM have signed a service subscription agreement for the Smart Traffic Light with Intelligence Analytic (STARS) system. The AI-powered system is capable of congesting videos from high-definition cameras and analytics to intelligently analyse traffic for an optimal traffic flow.
According to Perak Youth and Sports, Communications and Multimedia Committee chairman Khairul Shahril Mohamed, the system is expected to streamline traffic flow by up to 51% during peak hours. This will save time and cost for road users, as well as reduce carbon emissions in Ipoh by 7,500 KG.
The smart traffic lights have been going through a trial since last November at four junctions along Jalan Sultan Idris Shah, though Khairul did not clarify if and when the system will be expanded to other parts of the city. Coincidentally, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is also looking into synchronising the traffic lights in the city to tackle worsening traffic congestion, as the system is currently managed by two different companies.
All this is centred around the new Ipoh Integrated Command Centre (IIOC), which has the ability to process Big Data using AI and Internet-of-Things. With the help of Digital National Berhad (DNB) and TM, Ipoh has become the first city in the northern region to get 5G access at a speed of 1GB per second.
Aside from the command centre, the city will add another 98 5G sites in the Greater Ipoh region by the end of October, with plans to eventually cover the entire state with 5G access. Notably, Penang is currently also piloting a 5G network in limited locations with plans for a wider rollout this year, meaning that it is still uncertain which northern state will be the first to achieve statewide coverage.
(Source: MBI/Facebook)
