More than 30 million citizens are expected to travel during this Lunar New Year holiday. Although this holiday is longer than usual, leading to a distribution of traffic, it is likely that traffic congestion will be difficult to avoid on the days when vehicles travel for New Year visits and returns. On New Year's Day, the 29th, the highway traffic volume is expected to reach 6.39 million vehicles, and the travel time from Seoul to Busan is projected to take up to 7 hours and 40 minutes.
Traffic congestion is one of the iconic scenes that symbolize the holiday, but as technology advances, this scene is expected to change. With the emergence of traffic management systems using advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), it is likely that future holidays will see smoother travel paths for those returning home and visiting.
◇The embodiment of advanced technology: 'Smart Road'
A Smart Road refers to a road system that optimizes vehicle flow by combining advanced technology with road infrastructure. It utilizes technologies such as IoT, AI, sensors, and communication networks to monitor road conditions in real-time and improve interaction between vehicles, thereby enhancing safety and efficiency.
The AI-based traffic control system 'Urban Traffic Brain (Unick),' developed by the Korean Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) last year, is a prominent example. Unick analyzes traffic volume in real-time at intersections and automatically optimizes traffic signals, reducing vehicle travel time by about 15%. A significant advantage is that it can be applied immediately to actual roads, unlike conventional signal optimization technologies.
Unick has been tested at 10 intersections in the Yuseong District of Daejeon, where its effectiveness has been verified. It also possesses the flexibility to be expanded to other cities through a cloud platform and is expected to contribute not only to reducing traffic congestion but also to decreasing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Jeong Moon-young, head researcher of the Smart Data Research Lab at ETRI, noted, 'Currently, we are developing it to expand its application to various issues such as disasters, similar to the Urban Traffic Brain system.'
While Unick focuses on optimizing intersections, the solution 'TIMOS' from the smart traffic solution startup 'Bit Sensing' monitors entire complex road zones. TIMOS is a traffic management system that combines radar, cameras, and AI to detect and analyze traffic information, violations, and accidents in real-time. This helps optimize vehicle flow and respond to various traffic situations, including enhancing pedestrian safety and preventing accidents.
TIMOS is designed to detect up to 256 vehicles traveling at speeds of up to 320 km/h across a maximum of eight lanes simultaneously. It can also track and analyze complex road situations in real-time by setting up 64 customized zones. Currently, TIMOS is being installed and operated in various cities across South Korea, including Wonju, Jeju Island, Seongnam, and Daegu, as well as overseas areas such as Mcity in Michigan, USA, and Verona, Italy.
◇Finding solutions to traffic chaos from nature
By incorporating a new approach inspired by nature into smart road technology, complex traffic issues can be addressed more effectively. Researchers from the University of Trento in Italy studied how large populations of ants can move orderly through narrow spaces without stopping or becoming congested.
The researchers observed a path of 30 cm in length, equivalent to 100 times the body length of the ants, tracking each ant's movement and analyzing their speed, density, and travel path using deep learning algorithms. The results showed that ants maintain order by following pheromone trails left by leader ants and move in groups with small gaps, without stopping or overtaking each other.
This strategy can also be applied to autonomous vehicles and smart road technologies. Marco Gerierri, a professor at the University of Trento, explained, 'Ants are one of the few species capable of handling bidirectional vehicle flow, just like roads, and they move smoothly without traffic congestion,' adding, 'Future transportation systems centered around autonomous vehicles may draw inspiration from ants' behavior.'
He further explained, 'Just as insects communicate through pheromones, connected, automated vehicles on smart roads can use advanced communication technologies to manage and communicate with road infrastructure. A method of moving at high speed in parallel lanes with narrow gaps could improve traffic efficiency and enhance service levels while reducing gas emissions.'
Reference material
Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2025.101331