The City of Austin in the US state of Texas has partnered with NTT to deploy new technologies to assess traffic patterns and reduce congestion.

Under the contract, NTT will leverage its Accelerate Smart data platform and modular data centre infrastructure for edge deployments to analyse traffic-related issues in Downtown Austin.

The project will use Internet of Things (IoT) devices deployed at key road intersections to procure traffic-related and mobility data by counting and classifying vehicles and recording the occurrences of wrong-way driving.

The move will provide the city authorities with real-time notifications and will help them to devise and implement appropriate measures to improve traffic flow, as well as reduce traffic accidents on Austin roads.

Austin Transportation Smart Mobility assistant director Jason JonMichael said: “We are piloting NTT because these solutions have the potential to help Austin digitally transform how people move safely through the city.

“By better understanding the data and causal effects of problems we see in challenging areas, we can develop effective solutions that meet the community’s needs.

“Evaluating data is key to reaching our Vision Zero goal of eliminating fatalities and serious injuries on Austin roadways. Smart technologies like this one will help us prioritise improvements to make our streets safer.”

NTT’s Accelerate Smart solution uses a secure, distributed network as a platform solution built on the company’s Cognitive Foundation architecture.

It features hyper-converged infrastructure and IoT gateways, as well as virtualisation software that hosts predictive analytics applications.

NTT senior executive vice-president Akira Shimada said: “For the City of Austin, traffic management is a critical component to minimise the challenges of rapid, significant growth.

“Our Accelerate Smart solution will help the City of Austin in their pursuit of pedestrian safety goals and position them for continued innovation to improve the lives of residents and visitors.”