Artificial intelligence has its ups and downs, but the Florida Department of Transportation is using the upside of the technology to improve safety when opening and closing their bridges.
“Using technology to improve safety is something big for us and we’re doing it,” said Pablo Orozco, District 6 Structures Maintenance Engineer with the Florida Department of Transportation.
The AI pilot program with the FDOT began in 2019 and is being tested out on the 5th Street Bridge which goes over the Miami River. Engineers showed NBC 6 how the technology works.
“When it opens, we have defined an area that is unsafe for pedestrians or any cars or bicyclists and it will stop the bridge from opening if they are in that unsafe area,” said Orozco.
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There are four sensors which are placed on the four corners of the bridge. The LIDAR sensors (which stands for laser imaging, detection, and ranging) can detect moving objects like pedestrians, cyclists and cars in a mapped-out inclusion zone. If someone passes through the barriers when they’re not supposed to, it sends a signal which automatically connects to the bridge controls to shut off.
“It’s sending signals and the AI detects this movement and if it detects that the bridge is going to open at the time that there’s an object there, it’s going to stop from opening,” said Orozco.
The human bridge operator has a series of safety checks, but this is an added layer of protection to remove human error.
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In 2022, a 79-year-old woman was killed while walking her bike over the Royal Park Bridge in Palm Beach County. The bridge tender, who was a contractor, was charged with manslaughter.
The hope is for the technology from this test pilot to prevent those situations and help save lives.
“There have been instances where we have had accidents on bridges when operating them — not only on our bridges but all the bridges across the country," said Orozco. "So as we embark into the innovation, we found that the technology is there, so we can use it to improve safety and we’re always striving to improve the safety of our operation."
As of now, the 5th Street bridge is the only FDOT bridge with this technology in Miami-Dade. The cost of installing and maintaining the system is around $250,000 for at least five years. There are plans for the technology to be implemented on other state bridges throughout South Florida in the near future.
