Stopping drivers from seeing red

Wish you’d hit more green lights on your way to work?

Kitchener’s Miovision , co-founded by Kurtis McBride in 2005, uses sensors, artificial intelligence, and connected software to grab a steady stream of detailed traffic information. Then, the technology assesses the info—anything from how many left turns people make, the time it takes to drive down a street and how many cyclists ride through an intersection—to improve traffic flow. “We want to help make every intersection more drivable,” says McBride.

With its technology in 65 countries, Miovision is growing exponentially. It’s also improving road safety and helping the environment by reducing the number of idling cars on the roads. For instance, it helped reduce morning commute times on a Milton, Ont., street by 17 per cent just by making it easy for the city to see (through data) how to improve traffic flow by changing signal timings for northbound drivers.

Going forward, Miovision wants to create smarter, safer cities. It also wants to ensure that cities can use data collected by Miovision products across other systems and departments, not limited by technology constraints. “We want to collect data in a way that ensures everyone has access to that information,” he says.