On the chaotic streets of Indian metropolis Bangalore, a technology is being tested that is set to transform cityscapes all around the world: amidst rickshaws and scooters, children at play and cows, an AI is gaining experience in real-world traffic.
A narrow street in the Indian metropolis of Bangalore. Traffic drives on the left, but it takes the untrained eye a moment to realise this. Road markings, traffic lights and street signs are nowhere to be seen. There is no pavement. Delivery vans, cars and scooters are parked next to each other on both sides of the road. Children are running between them. On the left side of the road four office chairs have come to rest. Too neatly lined up to be bulky waste, yet too far out onto the road to serve as seating.
A car drives past the displaced furniture. It is suddenly overtaken by two scooters. One passes on the right, almost breaching the oncoming traffic. The other squeezes through on the left, between car and office chairs. More scooters follow. They pass the car, only to slow it down again a few metres later. Without making eye contact, indicating or by gesturing, they cut in right in front of it to turn right or left. At the same time, other vehicles from the opposite side drive into the junction and block the way. No one honks their horn; no one stops for longer than necessary.
The drivers work their way through, inch by inch. Eventually, the tangle clears and the car drives on. A few minutes later a cow blocks the road.
The driving school of the future
The scenes described above are captured in a video that can be viewed on YouTube.1 They are nothing out of the ordinary in Bangalore. On the contrary: by local standards, these events are harmless. The metropolis of 12 million inhabitants is considered one of the most congested cities in India. “That’s like the least ‘busy’ streets in Bangalore,” someone comments under the video in question ...
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