Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing traditional driving behaviors, and its deep integration with urban transport has also attracted broad attention.

AI is ushering in a more effective and safer era for urban transport, said Peng Jinzhan, chief architect of Beijing-based self-driving car start-up UISEE Technology.

At the 19th China High-Tech Fair, Chinese facial recognition technology developer SenseTime unveiled its latest driver fatigue monitoring system. The system is able to read and analyze drivers’ facial expressions and will issue precautions and alerts if fatigue is detected.

In addition, a complete smart system for urban transit using AI technology will be established. AI has already been applied to traffic control in eastern China’s city of Hangzhou.

In October 2016, Chinese tech giant Alibaba launched a pilot program called “City Brain” in Hangzhou. The internet-connected program conducts real-time analysis for the city’s transport resources in a bid to more effectively allocate public resources and promote sustainable urban development.

Statistics show that average driving speed in pilot areas increased 15% after the launch of the program, and the average time of congestion is down 9.2%.

In the city’s Xiaoshan District, ambulances are given a green light at all intersections through smart dispatching, which has cut the average arrival time for ambulances by half.

In addition, the system reports more than 500 traffic accidents in the downtown area daily, with an accuracy of 92%.

However, more work is needed before AI and traffic control are deeply integrated. According to Peng, self-driving is a core scenario of AI application in transport, but there’s still a long way to go in terms of environmental perception, intelligent decision and planning, and smart control.