Las Vegas is also working with networking firm Cisco in a wider smart city initiative
Siemens, along with Brandmotion and Commsignia, is working with the City of Las Vegas to provide a turnkey vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) solution. Siemens said the solution will be deployed along Casino Center Boulevard between Bonneville and Clark avenues, which will become one of the initial corridors with the connected vehicle technologies in the City of Las Vegas. Siemens V2I technology includes roadside and vehicle infrastructure, software applications as well as a digital smart city platform that enables vehicles and pedestrians to communicate with traffic infrastructure like intersections, corridors and traffic signals in real-time to improve safety and prevent injuries.
Due to the increasing number of fatalities involving pedestrians in Las Vegas valley, this connected vehicle pilot will focus on two key initial priorities:
- Pedestrian safety: A crosswalk will be equipped with a roadside unit to warn oncoming drivers when a pedestrian is present in the crosswalk. By using the installed On Board Units, which connect with the roadside units, drivers will receive warnings in their vehicles. This information could also be transmitted to the pedestrians to detect a potential vehicle/pedestrian collision near the crosswalk and potentially prevent an incident.
- Corridor notifications: Vehicles equipped with the connected vehicle technology will receive information and warnings from connected street infrastructure such as when vehicles are traveling in the wrong direction, in an exclusive bus-only travel lane and for certain times of the day, when lane usage has been restricted.
The Las Vegas Connected Vehicle Pilot aims to reduce the risk of collisions by detecting and warning wrong-way drivers before they enter a one-way street or closed lane, Siemens said. The company said that the pilot program will have a length of six months.
“By showcasing this smart city technology, Las Vegas is building a truly connected, multimodal system that provides a safer and more efficient road network for its residents and visitors,” said Marcus Welz, CEO of Siemens intelligent traffic systems. “The initial V2I technologies provide a foundation for enhanced safety in a heavily frequented area of Las Vegas while its usage and its smart application will continue to expand throughout the city.”
Siemens has already worked with cities including Ann Arbor, Michigan and Tampa, Florida, to design and deploy these types of intelligent systems. Siemens is also a member of the USDOT Affiliated Test Bed for connected vehicle technologies, a group pursuing wide-spread deployment of wireless communication systems between vehicles and road infrastructure.
In June 2017, Las Vegas said it will use Cisco’s solutions in its bid to become a smart city. The partnership will involve using Cisco’s connected cameras, sensors, and platforms to collect and analyse data across environment, traffic, water, crowd control, transit, lighting, waste management, security, and parking.
One of the main goals of creating a smart city initiative in t Las Vegas is to improve congestion at major intersections for vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles. City authorities said that the data collected through sensors and cameras will be used to reroute vehicles, improve the efficiency of traffic lights, and increase public safety.
Cisco’s smart city solutions are being trialled in Las Vegas’ innovation district, which was launched in March 2016.
