Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Swiss Institute of Technology, and the Italian National Research Council released a paper in March in the scientific journal PLOS ONE, which argues that slot-based intersections could replace traffic stop lights when self-driving cars become a reality.
“This idea is based on a scenario where sensor-laden vehicles pass through intersections by communicating and remaining at a safe distance from each other, rather than grinding to a halt at traffic lights,” MIT’s Senseable City Lab states on its site. “This approach based on slot-based intersections is flexible and can be designed to accommodate pedestrian and bicycle crossing with vehicular traffic.”