Smart Cities and the Importance of Smart Traffic Lights

In the last twenty years there has been a huge emphasis placed on the road safety due to an increasing number of drivers on the roads. Safety is and will remain the number one priority, and for this reason, any positive changes or technological changes will be welcomed by governments and vehicle manufacturers. People spend more and more hours driving and it causes not only more chaos but it also pollutes the environment. The development of new smart technology has therefore become an important focus for many companies, institutions and researchers. Smart cities are demanding a smarter traffic light system. In this work we will briefly mention the beginnings of traffic lights as well as the gradual progress we have made so far with this new technology. We will also look at the current traffic lights and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of such smart innovation and in the last chapters of the work the focus will be on different types of algorithms and sensors used in smart technology.