Siemens Expands Partnership with Ann Arbor for Intelligent Traffic System

1923

Siemens Corp., a global engineering company, today announced it has chosen Ann Arbor to become one of the country’s first cities with real-world implementations of intelligent traffic technology.

“The city’s ability and willingness to leverage technology to improve traffic and quality of life for their residents and guests, our long-standing 10-year technology partnership, and the existing culture of research through the University (of Michigan) and local business make Ann Arbor an ideal partner of choice for a Siemens Intelligent Traffic Center of Excellence,” says Marcus Welz, president of Siemens Intelligent Traffic Systems.

Welz says the technologies will help improve commutes, traffic on U-M football game days, and the overall traffic experience in Ann Arbor. Technologies include a cloud-based traffic management software that allows cities to monitor and respond to changing traffic conditions in real-time; a software located on the traffic controller that communicates between the controller and the central system, as well as between the controller and smart phones and vehicles; and an adaptive traffic control system that automatically adjusts signal timing to optimize traffic flow.

“Ann Arbor is a city of 115,000 residents, 70,000 students, and thousands of visitors and that puts considerable stress on a transportation system, so the need to move traffic in and out of the city efficiently is crucial not only for economic and environmental impacts, but for quality of life for Ann Arbor residents,” Welz says.

He says Siemens will work with the Farmington Hills-based distributor Carrier and Gable Inc. to implement the technology.

In 2005, Siemens deployed its adaptive control system across 44 intersections in Ann Arbor. The company has also provided versions of its advanced traffic management system to the city.