Efficient urban mobility is essential for modern cities, but it remains a significant challenge. WISP, an AI-driven traffic management solution, aims to tackle this issue by optimising traffic lights without requiring additional hardware. This innovative system leverages real-time data from connected vehicles to improve traffic flow, reduce waiting times, and cut emissions.

Costly and inefficient traffic systems

The lack of information on road flows poses significant challenges for public and local authorities in addition to the considerable economic, environmental, and societal costs caused by traffic congestion. Annually, road inefficiencies result in €33 billion in external costs, 10.2 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions, and 2,550 fatalities in Europe alone.

Traditional traffic management systems often rely on hardware like sensors and cameras, which can be expensive to install and maintain. Moreover, these hardware-based systems struggle to adapt quickly to dynamic traffic conditions, leading to inefficiencies that impact public transport, emergency response, and overall mobility.

AI-powered optimisation

WISP Solutions offers a software-based alternative that integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructure. The system collects real-time data from connected vehicles to optimise traffic light timings dynamically. The solution eliminates the need for additional hardware and reduces dependency on faulty or non-existent sensors, resulting in up to 69% savings in operational expenses.

Key applications of WISP include:

• Public transport prioritisation: WISP accelerates buses and shuttles, reducing travel times and enhancing reliability.
• Emergency response: It ensures faster and smoother passage for emergency vehicles.
• Pedestrian and cyclist safety: Signal adjustments cater to vulnerable road users, improving urban mobility for all.

WISP’s lightweight technical requirements set it apart. Cities need only a 4G modem to connect existing traffic controllers to WISP servers. Fortified with a robust, multi-layered security architecture, and industry standard communication encryption protocols, the systems embedded devices are not accessible directly from the outside, reducing the attack surface significantly and ensuring the system remains secure and resilient against cyber threats. The system’s AI engine processes data centrally, enabling real-time adjustments across city grids. This allows WISP to function effectively in cities with or without pre-installed sensors, using connected car data as its primary input.

Gold medal performance

During the 2024 Paris Olympics, WISP was tasked with ensuring priority for athletes and spectators by leveraging field sensors and connected buses data. During the deployment, WISP managed traffic at seven intersections. With 300 shuttles travelling per day, this equated to 60,000 trips transporting over 700,000 passengers. Additionally, WISP technology was able to improve the commercial speed of the shuttles by up to 20%. Further implementations in France such as Châteauroux, reduced cumulative waiting times by 19% across key intersections, and in Clichy, a 26% reduction in delays.

During the 2024 EIT Urban Mobility co-funded RAPTOR project piloted in Košice, WISP worked to adjust their solution to the Slovakian market to meet national regulations and provide a traffic signal prioritisation system for public transport and emergency vehicles. The project showed a 26% reduction in waiting times and an 8% reduction in CO2 emissions – the equivalent to removing 2,000 cars annually based on estimated traffic volume. “The RAPTOR project in Košice was a valuable opportunity for WISP to validate the scalability of our system in a new European market. This pilot strengthened our expertise in adapting to diverse urban infrastructures and paved the way for further international expansion” explains Didier Lerer, Co-founder and Chief Business Officer of WISP Solutions. In agreement with Košice, WISP Solutions will roll out their solution to a further 16 intersections in the city.

Green lights for WISPs future

WISP’s ability to reduce waiting times, emissions and particulate matter pollution while improving road safety has transformative potential. “Our AI-powered traffic optimisation solution significantly reduces urban emissions by decreasing vehicle idling, braking, and acceleration at traffic lights. By improving traffic flow, we contribute to lower fuel consumption, enhanced air quality, and a more sustainable mobility ecosystem” adds Lerer.

By enhancing public transport speed by up to 20% and reducing delays for emergency vehicles, WISP delivers a cost-effective, scalable, and environmentally sustainable solution with measurable benefits to urban mobility systems. With plans to expand to Italy, Germany, and Southern Europe, WISP is poised to become a leader in traffic management innovation.

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