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Predicting sudden traffic congestion in real time using optical fiber cables

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Predicting sudden traffic congestion in real time using optical fiber cables


Credit: NEC

NEC Corporation has developed an optical fiber sensing technology to monitor road conditions and accurately predict sudden traffic congestion in real time. By collecting data from existing optical fiber communications cables and analyzing real-time traffic flow data using a proprietary AI model, the researchers have reduced prediction errors by 80% compared to conventional methods.

This technology enables effective traffic control, including the arrangement of detour routes, thereby contributing to the resolution of societal challenges such as logistics issues and CO2 emissions.

Technology overview

Traffic is a significant social issue, threatening safety and causing substantial economic losses. In particular, congestion on expressways—the backbone of many logistics networks—has a significant economic impact. Addressing this issue requires understanding of for both immediate congestion mitigation and proactive avoidance, as well as highly accurate congestion prediction based on up-to-date data.

Current monitoring approaches primarily rely on point-based instruments, including cameras and loop detectors, as well as probe vehicle data. However, both have limitations: the former is costly to install and maintain over entire road networks, and the latter only provides data when equipped vehicles pass by specific receiver points, limiting real-time and continuous coverage. Moreover, existing congestion prediction models heavily rely on long-term , making it difficult to capture the emergence and propagation of sudden, unexpected congestion patterns.

To address these challenges, NEC has developed a technology that utilizes optical fiber cables—originally installed for communications purposes alongside roads—as extensive, distributed sensors for collecting real-time, continuous traffic data across entire routes. NEC’s unique AI-powered then provides real-time, high-precision predictions regarding the development and clearance of sudden congestion.

NEC technology predicts sudden traffic congestion in real time using optical fiber cables
Credit: NEC

Technical features

NEC has developed a data assimilation algorithm that combines advanced model parameter optimization and data adapting techniques, enabling accurate simulations of real-time traffic flow using comprehensive data collected along the entirety of roadways.

The team has created an algorithm to optimize theoretical model parameters—such as driver behaviors (e.g., inter-vehicle distance adjustment)—so that simulations faithfully reproduce observed traffic flow data for entire road segments.

Data adaptation algorithm

An advanced algorithm converts diverse traffic flow data, including “” and individual vehicle “position/speed,” into formats compatible with simulation inputs. This makes it possible to set the for simulations based on comprehensive traffic flow data obtained on entire routes, significantly enhancing the reliability of simulation outputs.

Through these innovations, the researchers have confirmed—using real-world data—that travel time prediction errors (a key indicator for congestion forecasting) can be reduced by approximately 80% compared to the existing method that relies on cross-sectional data from point sensors such as cameras.

NEC is further advancing the realization of a dynamic road digital twin that enables real-time, network-wide traffic monitoring, the prediction of congestion evolution, and optimization of responsive measures. Real-world trials are currently underway in close collaboration with road authorities, with the goal of practical deployment by fiscal 2026.

This technology was developed using data provided by Central Nippon Expressway Company Limited (NEXCO CENTRAL) and was presented at the Transportation Research Board 104th Annual Meeting held in Washington D.C. January 5–9, 2025 as a paper titled “A Novel Approach to Real-Time Short-Term Traffic Prediction based on Distributed Fiber-Optic Sensing and Data Assimilation with a Stochastic Cell-Automata Model.” It is available on the arXiv preprint server.

A related paper will be presented at the 31st ITS World Congress in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. held August 24–28, focused on enhancing the accuracy of flow monitoring on expressways.

More information:
Yoshiyuki Yajima et al, A Novel Approach to Real-Time Short-Term Traffic Prediction based on Distributed Fiber-Optic Sensing and Data Assimilation with a Stochastic Cell-Automata Model, arXiv (2025). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2501.03628

Journal information:
arXiv


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The Best Cyber Monday Streaming Deals With a Convenient Roommate’s Email Address

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The Best Cyber Monday Streaming Deals With a Convenient Roommate’s Email Address


HBO knows you’re bored and cold. It wants you to Max and chill with Noah Wyle in scrubs. The company offers some of the best Cyber Monday streaming deals with a ridiculously low-priced $3/month offer for basic HBO Max (it’s the version with ads and 2K streaming, but still, super-cheap). Disney Plus and Hulu deals are bundled up for $5/month. Apple TV wants back in your life for $6.

Of course, this deal is only meant for new customers. Not boring ol’ existing customers. If you already have basic HBO Max, you’re already paying $11 for the same service, and HBO would like you to keep doing that. Streaming apps are banking on you being complacent and happy in your streaming life. Maybe they’re even taking you for granted.

Sometimes you can get the current deal just by threatening to cancel, or actually canceling, your account. Suddenly, you’re an exciting new customer again! Another method is by using an alternate email account (perhaps your spouse’s or roommate’s?) and alternate payment information as a new customer. If you do use a burner email (you did not hear this from me), check in on your favorite app’s terms of service to make sure you’re not in violation by re-enrolling with different emails. I’ll also issue the caveat that you lose all your viewing data and tailored suggestions if you sign up anew.

But times and wallets are tight! And $3 HBO Max sounds pretty good. After all, every middle-aged American man needs to rewatch The Wire once every five years or so—assuming he’s not the kind of middle-aged man who rewatches The Sopranos instead. Here are the current best streaming deals for Cyber Monday 2025.


Devon Maloney; ARCHIVE ID: 546772

Regular price: $80



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Hong Kong FWA services market set for 9.6% growth | Computer Weekly

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Hong Kong FWA services market set for 9.6% growth | Computer Weekly


Analysis from GlobalData is forecasting that fixed wireless access (FWA) service revenue in Hong Kong is expected to increase at a “healthy” compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.6% between 2025 and 2030.

The latest Hong Kong Total Fixed Communications Forecast set out to quantify current and future demand and spending on mobile services for the special administrative region of China. It noted that growth was being driven by Hong Kong’s extensive 5G network coverage and could also be attributed to local operators’ efforts to expand FWA services and position it as an alternative to traditional fibre broadband services for both residential and commercial sectors, meeting growing demand for high-speed connectivity in areas where extending fibre lines is challenging.

“High-density urban and suburban centres of Hong Kong create a strong business case for FWA services due to their cost-effective and rapid deployments without the complex infrastructure and civil work required for extending fibre-optic lines to such locations,” said Neha Misra, senior analyst at GlobalData.

“Competitive, feature-rich plans from the operators will also help drive its adoption over the forecast period. For instance, HKBN’s 5G Home Broadband Plan provides unlimited 5G broadband data (subject to a 300GB with a fair-usage policy) for HKD118 per month on a 24-month contract, along with a seven-day trial guarantee. The plan also includes a waiver of the HKD28 monthly administration fee and complimentary access to the basic HomeShield security plan.”

In addition to HKBN, the study noted that operators such as 3 Hong Kong and HKT are also using their extensive 5G networks to offer home broadband services, particularly in areas with limited fibre infrastructure. It cited HKT as recently having successfully deployed mmWave-based FWA to deliver ultra-high-speed internet to rural areas and outlying islands.

“Growing demand for FWA provides operators a strong revenue opportunity by expanding home and SME broadband without the high capital intensity of fibre roll-out,” Misra added. “By leveraging nationwide 5G coverage, introducing competitively priced service plans and bundling digital home services, operators can unlock higher ARPU [average revenue per user], accelerate market penetration in underserved areas and diversify beyond traditional revenues.”

GlobalData believes the Hong Kong government’s smart city initiatives will also open new opportunities for FWA, especially 5G FWA, which can deliver high-speed internet to power applications such as the digital economy, digital governance and e-health services, while supporting the city’s dense urban environment and digital transformation goals under the Smart City Blueprint 2.0.

The original blueprint was set out in December 2017, outlining 76 initiatives under six smart areas, namely Smart Mobility, Smart Living, Smart Environment, Smart People, Smart Government and Smart Economy. Blueprint 2.0 puts forth more than 130 initiatives that continue to enhance and expand existing city management measures and services. The new initiatives aim to bring benefits and convenience to the public so that residents can better perceive the benefits of smart city innovation and technology.



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Prague’s City Center Sparkles, Buzzes, and Burns at the Signal Festival

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Prague’s City Center Sparkles, Buzzes, and Burns at the Signal Festival


And thanks to a mention in Dan Brown’s new novel, The Secret of Secrets, the festival has gained even more global recognition. Just a few weeks after the release of Brown’s new bestseller set in contemporary Prague, viewers were able to see for themselves what drew the popular writer to the festival, which is the largest Czech and Central European showcase of digital art. In one passage, the Signal Festival has a cameo appearance when the novel’s protagonist recalls attending an event at the 2024 edition.

“We’re happy about it,” festival director Martin Pošta says about the mention. “It’s a kind of recognition.” Not that the event needed promotion, even in one of the most anticipated novels of recent years. The organizers have yet to share the number of visitors to the festival this year, but the four-day event typically attracts half a million visitors.

On the final day, there was a long queue in front of the monumental installation Tristan’s Ascension by American video art pioneer Bill Viola before it opened for the evening, even though it was a ticketed event. In the Church of St. Salvator in the Convent of St. Agnes, visitors could watch a Christ-like figure rise upwards, streams of water defying gravity along with him, all projected on a huge screen.

The festival premiere took place on the Vltava River near the Dvořák Embankment. Taiwan’s Peppercorns Interactive Media Art presented a projection on a cloud of mist called Tzolk’in Light. While creators of other light installations have to deal with the challenges of buildings—their irregular surfaces, decorative details, and awkward cornices—projecting onto water droplets is a challenge of a different kind with artists having to give up control over the resulting image. The shape and depth of the Peppercorns’ work depended on the wind at any given moment, which determined how much of the scene was revealed to viewers and how much simply blown away. The reward, however, was an extraordinary 3D spectacle reminiscent of a hologram—something that can’t be achieved with video projections on static and flat buildings.

Another premiere event was a projection on the tower of the Old Town Hall, created for the festival by the Italian studio mammasONica. It transformed the 230-foot structure into a kaleidoscope of blue, green, red, and white surfaces. A short distance away, on Republic Square, Peppercorns had another installation. On a circular LED installation, they projected a work entitled Between Mountains and Seas, which recounted the history of Taiwan.





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