Sony Semiconductor Solutions has deployed its edge AI sensing technologies in two cities in the United States. One is a road safety initiative in Lakewood, Colorado, the other a traffic management pilot with the City of San José, California.

In Lakewood, Sony’s intelligent vision sensors, which enable AI processing on the edge, are supporting a traffic safety initiative focused on reducing collisions and near-misses at high-risk intersections and mid-block corridors. The system provides real-time detection of vehicle movements and pedestrian crossings. It can function in challenging lighting or weather conditions. The deployments are aimed at helping city officials improve vulnerable road users’ (VRUs) safety toward the city’s Vision Zero goal.

San José’s Department of Transportation has launched a pilot to explore new ways to improve traffic data collection using AI sensing technologies. Traffic studies typically rely on temporary surveys, often based on just a few days of data. Such surveys can miss long-term patterns and seasonal fluctuations. By deploying a permanent monitoring system, San José aims to gain continuous, high-accuracy data on vehicle counts, speeds, travel directions, as well as pedestrian and bicycle activity.

Initial evaluations of the San José pilot show over 95 percent accuracy in tracking directional traffic flows, offering a more complete picture of roadway use. This richer dataset supports better-informed decisions around transportation planning, safety improvements, and infrastructure investments. In addition to traffic analysis, the same system architecture has the potential to support a variety of other smart city applications, including curb space management, illegal dumping detection, safer crosswalk monitoring, and asset protection in areas vulnerable to cable theft or vandalism.

“At Sony, we believe the future of mobility starts with seeing the world more clearly,” said Yu Kitamura, Senior Business Development Manager, Sony Semiconductor Solutions America. “By combining high-performance AI capable intelligent vision sensors with data applications, we’re helping cities like Lakewood and San José respond to rapidly evolving transportation patterns and infrastructure needs.”

Sony’s smart city platform is designed as an open ecosystem. It provides a platform for partners to build end-to-end solutions for urban environments.

At the edge, Sony collaborates with a network of specialised camera, AI, analytics and network providers. These include AglaiaSense, Gamax, Green Ideas Technology, Irida Labs, Itron, Modii, Nota AI, Synapse ITS and umojo.