Cities Use AI to Help Ambulances and Firetrucks Arrive Faster

With bogus 911 calls and clogged streets making it harder for ambulances and firetrucks to get where they’re needed, overburdened municipal departments are finding they can get through jams with technology that breaks down traffic patterns and categorizes emergencies.

US cities have become a testing ground for startups to improve emergency response times—and they promise to save money while doing so. Research group C2Smarter is using sensors to help firetrucks get through Manhattan’s snarled streets faster, while Lyt (pronounced “Lyte”) is deploying artificial intelligence to decide when to turn red lights green in San Jose and Seattle, so city vehicles get to their destinations more quickly. MD Ally has found a way to triage and redirect 911 calls in Phoenix and Fort Myers, Florida, so hospital emergency rooms aren’t inundated with noncritical cases, while getting people whatever care they require.

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