Finland uses drones and AI to ease traffic jams

Finland’s capital, Helsinki, is turning to drones and artificial intelligence (AI) to help tackle one of the city’s trickiest challenges – keeping traffic moving smoothly, Euronews writes.

Helsinki’s West Harbour is Europe’s second busiest port, handling about 6 million ferry passengers annually.

Since 2023, drones have been taking to the skies above the major transport hub, linking ferries, trams, metro lines, and trains.

Drones collect information on passengers’ route choices to improve connections between different modes of transport and reduce peak congestion, according to Forum Virium Helsinki, the city’s innovation company.

“The project is to improve traffic flow with AI solutions and create a basis for more sustainable urban mobility,” Eero Jalo, a  project manager at Forum Virium Helsinki, told Euronews Next.

The drones track cars, trams, bicycles, electric scooters, and pedestrians. Each round involved three to six drones capturing video footage of traffic during cruise ship arrivals and departures, when traffic is at its busiest.

Eventually, the data gathered from the drones will feed information on congestion formation and traffic flow into the AI to create simulations.