Smart city takes roads to the future

Intelligent solutions bring numerous benefits to companies and residents

The introduction of digital streets at a national-level development zone in Hebei province is making life much easier for drivers.

Traffic signals, 5G networks, radar, cameras and sensors positioned on top of lampposts in Rongdong, Xiong'an New Area, ensure drivers enjoy green lights throughout designated routes.

Liu Xiduo, a consultant at China Telecom Digital City Technology Co, which focuses on constructing smart facilities in the area, said one example of the routes is a 3-kilometer section of road in Rongdong's Le'an Street.

Statistics on traffic flow and vehicle density are gathered by the equipment, before being uploaded to a cloud center, the Rongdong Digital Road Intelligent Operations Center, and analyzed by algorithms, Liu said.

The results help adjust traffic lights intelligently at several intersections on the routes, he said.

"This optimization helps improve traffic efficiency by 20 percent to 30 percent during peak periods in the mornings and evenings," he added.

Liu said Rongdong is now home to more than 200 km of digital roads, with sensors on over 7,000 lampposts monitoring traffic to help reduce congestion and support autonomous driving. The lampposts are referred to as multifunctional intelligent information poles.