Manila, Philippines, faces significant traffic congestion, affecting its economy and quality of life. In 2023, it ranked as the world’s most congested metro area. To address this issue, the Philippines launched the Road Safety Action Plan (RSAP) in 2017 to improve road safety and address traffic-related injuries and fatalities. The government uses artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance road safety strategies. This innovative approach aims to address the daily struggles faced by the city and contribute to the country’s overall development.

Here are three possible ways how AI can help the Philippines move towards a more efficient, responsive, and safer transportation system:

Current methods of monitoring traffic rely heavily on manual observation and often miss crucial details. Using machine learning, vision AI can accurately count and classify vehicles, providing a real-time comprehensive picture of traffic flow. The data-driven insights will enable proactive interventions to prevent accidents and alleviate congestion.

For example, a city like Montreal, which once struggled with severe congestion, particularly around its port, drastically improved its traffic flow using Fujitsu’s AI-enabled data analysis platform to optimize the management of 2,500 traffic lights. This solution enables the city to make data-driven decisions to streamline traffic flows, lower fuel consumption, and reduce air pollution. This is a success story that shows the potential of Vision AI for tackling Manila’s traffic challenges.

In a traffic emergency, rapid response is critical. Traditional methods often react too slowly, escalating accidents and widespread gridlock.

AI-powered systems can automatically detect incidents on the road – accidents, stalled vehicles, or even unusual pedestrian behaviors – and instantly alert traffic operators. This will dramatically improve response times, enable quicker intervention, minimize disruption, and potentially save lives.

Japan’s highway system provides a compelling example of how AI can help contribute directly to the government’s objective of safer roads. Fujitsu’s AI-powered traffic management system has significantly improved highway safety, especially during severe weather, by providing real-time data for preemptive accident prevention.

Traditional systems often struggle to analyze complex traffic conditions in real time, particularly in areas with limited visibility. AI’s advanced modeling capabilities can overcome these limitations. By analyzing historical data and real-time feeds, AI can predict potential bottlenecks and congestion hotspots, enabling proactive alterations to traffic signals and infrastructure planning.

Fujitsu and Carnegie Mellon University’s collaboration on AI-powered social digital twin technology in Pittsburgh, USA, demonstrates this potential. The system captures highly detailed real-time traffic images, identifying potential hazards even in blind spots, resulting in a substantially reduced accident in Pittsburgh.

Unlocking AI’s full potential requires building a robust data collection system, a scalable cloud infrastructure, and a real-time alert system. This strategic approach will empower organizations to make data-driven decisions instantly.

  • Robust data collection: Deploying a strategically planned network of high-resolution cameras and sensors across critical areas in the Philippines will provide the foundational data for AI-driven insights.
  • Scalable cloud architecture: A robust and scalable cloud infrastructure will be implemented to efficiently process the vast amount of data generated by the sensor network. This architecture will ensure the system capacity keeps pace with future growth and technological advancements.
  • Real-time actionable response systems: Seamless integration of AI-driven insights with existing and future traffic management systems will enable real-time, adaptive responses, optimizing traffic flow and enhancing safety.

With these elements in place, decision-makers can harness the power of AI to transform the country’s approach to road safety. This will help create a more efficient, safer, and responsive transportation system, achieving the government’s Road Safety Action Plan (RSAP) objectives and improving all Filipinos’ lives.