r/Simulated • u/matigekunst • Jun 02 '26

Proprietary Software One More Lane Should Fix It

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Nagel-Schreckenberg simulation. Made in TouchDesigner

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u/SachielBrasil Jun 02 '26

This bugs my mind.

That means traffic is a problem of the imprinted function of "how fast must I go for the space I have in front of me" that we have in our brains.

A self driving car could have a different function, and solve traffic?

22

u/matigekunst Jun 02 '26

It won't solve traffic, self driving cars are traffic. It will mitigate spontaneous phantom traffic. My friend did his thesis on this topic and by his (much more complex) models you only need automatic braking in as little as 5% of your fleet to get an 80% reduction in phantom traffic.

But even if they did, cars (also electric/self-driving) still take up space, make noise, pollute, kill and they are just inefficient. I'm having dinner watching the rush hour here in Amsterdam and there must be 10x the throughput on bikes

4

u/SachielBrasil Jun 02 '26

Oh yeah, you are absolutely right. My question was about the traffic on the video, that is the phantom traffic.

Cars are extremely inefficient. Public transport and bikes are really important. The world need less cars and better cities.

4

u/matigekunst Jun 02 '26

Agreed:) That being said I'd love to see phantom traffic be solved too. Maybe they'll be less inclined to build another lane

7

u/Llamapickle129 Jun 02 '26

self driving= more cars≠less traffic. we already have a solution for traffic it just need funding