Vinci Highways and Invision AI light up motorway in Greece

New smart system adjusts road lighting to suit driving conditions and save energy
By David Arminas December 19, 2023 Read time: 2 mins
Vinci says the adaptive lighting system, combined with the energy performance of the LED lights, will reduce annual energy consumption for night lighting by up to 75% (image: Vinci Highways)

The Athens-Patras highway is the first in Greece to have a smart lighting system that automatically adapts the road lighting to the level of traffic

The system along a trial section of the tolled 218km-long highway - also known as Motorway 8 - adjusts the lighting to best suit the driving conditions, according to Vinci Highways, operator of the road. Vinci has committed to achieve operational net-zero emission on its network by 2050.

The system uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to determine the optimal lighting level by processing live data including traffic, weather and road incidents from multiple sources. Constant monitoring of the vehicle traffic at each interchange of the highway allows the system to calculate the total traffic and make forecasts for the next hour. When traffic decreases and predictive traffic remains low, the system progressively reduces intensity of lighting.

The system also includes real-time data from the highway’s weather stations and cameras to immediately increase lighting in case of a change in driving conditions. The system has been set up in a trial along the Elefsina to Corinth section and will be progressively implemented along the entire length of the highway.

Vinci says the adaptive lighting system, combined with the energy performance of the LED lights already set up along the complete length of the Athens-Patras highway, will reduce annual energy consumption for night lighting by up to 75%. It also reduces light pollution for people living close to the motorway.

The adaptive lighting system has been developed in collaboration with the National Technical University of Athens and specialist start-ups including Extrabit, Athens-based predictive weather forecasting company Ex Machina and Invision AI, which provides video-based AI solutions for transit and public safety applications.

Dutch firm Tvilight provided the luminaire controllers and software. 

Extrabit supplied the machine learning algorithm that accurately predicts the number of vehicles in predefined future intervals. The company also provided the communication protocols for interfacing with around 8,000 LED dimmable luminaires, as well as the visualisation and control of the complete system on a web-based platform.

Charging, Tolling & RUC Detection, Monitoring & Machine Vision Classification & Data Collection

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Researchers develop remote traffic pollution detection system
    September 19, 2013
    A group of research centres and companies in Madrid has created what is said to be the first infrared and remote system able to detect pollutants from cars on highways up to three lanes. The goal is to be able to conduct a global test of automobile emissions. According to the researchers, the prototype, which is ready to be marketed, can make an intelligent measurement of highway traffic by collecting real-time data on traffic density, emissions and consumption associated with each vehicle, and weather c
    Read More
  • ITS needs data highways
    November 18, 2014
    Transport and traffic data is on the increase but there must be an integrated data highway to derive the maximum ITS benefits, argues Deutsche Telekom. From public transport operators recording increasingly precise and comprehensive data on their vehicle’s position and driving behaviour to local authorities using RFID and video systems to control traffic on their streets and highways, the amount of traffic data is growing rapidly.
    Read More
  • Extra enforcement key to cutting road casualties in The Netherlands
    November 27, 2013
    While The Netherlands already has some of the safest roads in the world it has ambitious plans to make them safer still, as Jon Masters discovers. In virtually all periodical studies and comparisons of countries’ road safety performance, the Netherlands is consistently in the top three and often leads the world, depending on how casualty figures are compared. According to the International Traffic Safety Data & Analysis Group (IRTAD) of the International Transport Forum, road deaths per capita have falle
    Read More
  • Countering congestion’s cost
    May 6, 2015
    A new report on the economic costs of traffic congestion predicts the problem will worsen significantly in future. Jon Masters reviews the figures and some suggested solutions. New figures on the rising economic and environmental costs of congestion have been published by the US traffic data specialist Inrix and the UK’s Centre for Economics & Business Research (Cebr). Their report finds the problem much bigger than previously thought.
    Read More

Highlighted Content