Traffic is one of the biggest reasons why we lose valuable time every day. However, as Elon Musk tweeted a week ago, "Even the most powerful humans in the world cannot defeat traffic". And besides that, innovation in self-driving cars will lead to further road congestion in the future. Finding a solution for a problem of this scale requires time and effort. But no matter how big the problem is, someone has to take the first step - and that is exactly what Ouster is doing right now.
An intelligent transportation system adapts to real-time traffic conditions, such as changing traffic light timing or turning on freeway ramp meters to balance out the flow of traffic.
But such a system can only work if enough data is provided. Apart from having lots of data, it also has to be reliable. That leads directly to the discussion of what sensor to use. Cameras - due to their high resolution - are very good at detecting vehicles and pedestrians in good weather. In bad weather, however, accuracy drops significantly. On the other hand, radars are largely unaffected by the weather but their resolution is not sufficient to identify every pedestrian or bicycle, for instance.
Lidar sensors provide the perfect solution here - they have great resolution and are not dependent on good weather. To make the data even more useful, they cannot only identify objects but also classify them and get accurate location and velocity information.
To learn more, click the link below to read the official article by Ouster:
https://ouster.com/blog/defeating-traffic-is-the-ultimate-boss-battle/
By following this link, you can download a flyer where the idea is explained in great detail:
https://ouster.com/resources/smart-infrastructure-resources/its-lidar-solution-overview/
