Traffic Lights with “Sight”: This is the Artificial Intelligence that Stops Traffic in Madrid When It Sees a Crowd of Pedestrians

The issue of road safety is truly a highly topical subject. On highways, motorways, country roads, and well, on city streets where traffic becomes most intense, protecting pedestrians and also vehicles is a matter that requires a great deal of science.

Science is there to be used where humanity can best benefit from it, and of course, technology as one of its expressions.

This is why this experience in Madrid with Artificial Intelligence traffic lights on the streets of the Spanish capital is interesting, cameras to monitor cars and pedestrians.

The Spanish capital has thus become an urban mobility laboratory by implementing pioneering technology that uses cameras with artificial intelligence to regulate traffic. Unlike traditional traffic lights, which operate with fixed timers, these new devices make decisions in real time.

The system, as pointed out by the Spanish digital publication COPE in its Traffic section, “analyzes via cameras how many pedestrians are waiting to cross a road,” activating the green light when it detects a crowd. But its intelligence goes further: it also “checks that all pedestrians have crossed to prevent run-overs,” ensuring that the light for vehicles does not turn green until the roadway is completely clear.

The results at strategic points in the city are revealing and show the versatility of AI. Around the Metropolitano Stadium, during major event days, the cameras detect groups of pedestrians and extend the green phase for them up to 80 seconds, well above the usual 25 seconds, speeding up mass exits without causing traffic jams. On central Calle Princesa, a 360-degree vision camera measures the volume of people crossing and extends the red time for vehicles as long as necessary, which especially benefits people with reduced mobility who need more time to complete the crossing.

But innovation does not stop with pedestrians. On the Puente de Segovia, cameras quantify in real time the flow of cyclists and pedestrians to adjust traffic lights on weekends, when the influx of bicycles towards Madrid Río skyrockets. On the Fuencarral road, the system detects approaching bicycles 20 seconds in advance so that their arrival at the intersection coincides with the green phase, preventing them from having to stop or press a button. Even in complex infrastructures like the Puente de San Isidro, where a physical button could not be installed, artificial vision automatically detects pedestrians stranded on the median and activates the green phase to guarantee their safety.

Soon, this technology will reach a particularly sensitive environment: the underground tunneling works on the A-5. There, a new intelligent traffic light on Villagarcía Street, near a school, will regulate the crossing based on pedestrian demand to protect students. Additionally, the system will be able to identify emergency vehicles and Calle 30 vehicles by license plate to give them absolute priority when accessing the road, ensuring that ambulances and essential services do not get trapped in the construction gridlock.

Although Madrid is expanding its use, the pioneering city in implementing this technology in Spain was Córdoba. Last March, the first traffic light with artificial intelligence was installed on Avenida del Aeropuerto, in front of a health center. This device is also capable of detecting if a pedestrian has mobility difficulties to automatically extend the duration of the green phase, a project the city seeks to expand to improve accessibility.

With these initiatives, Madrid not only improves traffic flow but also consolidates a city model where technology is placed at the service of safety and sustainability. The infallible sight of the cameras no longer only fines but also protects, waits for, and accompanies the pedestrian at every crossing.