TAMPA, Fla. — Artificial intelligence seems to be everywhere now, and in Florida, it’s even impacting how you get around.

What You Need To Know

  • Florida is using Rekor Systems artificial intelligence to help with traffic management

  • AI looks at traffic data to help find issues

  • AI can also be used to help deal with growing traffic congestion in the state

The state of Florida is now using AI to try to help with the traffic congestion in the growing state.

With all those cars on the road comes a lot of data, from things like cell phones, cameras and connected vehicles. The state, and many cities like Tampa, use Rekor’s artificial intelligence program to analyze road data to spot traffic issues and keep drivers safe.

“If you think about it, it’s like attaching a giant computer to the roadway,” said Rekor Systems executive vice president Mike Dunbar.

“We leverage AI to make sense of trillions and trillions of data points to provide traffic managers something that helps them react more quickly, more effectively,” he added.

Last year, Spectrum News spoke with Tampa city traffic officials about how they use the Rekor system in their traffic management center.

They say AI can find traffic issues, like a car breaking down, that sometimes human operators miss. Now, they say they can respond faster to get lanes opened or reroute traffic.

“Traffic management centers have legacy technology that do a decent job at finding incidents," Dunbar said. "But it’s not as many as they would like to find."

He said AI can also be used to help law enforcement. For instance, AI sensors can pick up license plates or vehicle models, useful in finding a stolen car or someone with an outstanding warrant.

But overall, Dunbar says AI is about making drivers' lives easier on the road.

“There’s only so much you can do with traffic infrastructure,” Dunbar said. “You can’t add another lane. You can’t build your way out of this problem. We really have to use technology to optimize our traffic challenges of the future.”