Civic Systems Lab

Quantum Traffic Control

Hybrid QUBO optimization for a six-intersection urban grid.

Network queue
127 vehicles

Across 6 intersections · 0 blocked links

Best wait-time reduction
21.2%

Compared with the fixed-cycle plan in the latest logged run.

Quantum circuit budget
6 qubits

p=1 QAOA circuit model · browser simulator estimate.

Network digital twin

Node color indicates density; selected amber corridor reserves north–south green for the ambulance.

Low congestionHigh / corridor

Green corridor active

Ambulance route: I1 → I2 → I5 → I6. Current priority node: I2. The QUBO applies a corridor reward only to the remaining route.

Intersection telemetry

Current state used to build the shared queue, delay, throughput, and coordination QUBO.

Capacity-aware flow model
IntersectionDensityQueuePhasePedestrian
I1
Harbor & 1st
29%
12NSClear
I2
Harbor & 4th
43%
20NSRequest active
I3
Harbor & 7th
44%
18EWClear
I4
Market & 1st
68%
33EWClear
I5
Market & 4th
59%
26EWRequest active
I6
Market & 7th
51%
19NSClear

Classical vs quantum comparison

A persisted analysis record is written on every comparison run, then reused by the charts and history below.

Last run 06:50:06 PM

Fixed timing

Static current-cycle baseline

-1.61 cost
Runtime
0.30 ms
Signal plan
6 phases

I1:NS · I2:EW · I3:EW · I4:EW · I5:NS · I6:NS

Classical optimizer

Exhaustive search over same QUBO

-7.90 cost
Runtime
1.80 ms
Signal plan
6 phases

I1:NS · I2:EW · I3:NS · I4:EW · I5:NS · I6:EW

QAOA p=1 simulator

Same QUBO · browser circuit estimator

-7.90 cost
Runtime
1.40 ms
Signal plan
6 phases

6 qubits · depth 14

I1:NS · I2:EW · I3:NS · I4:EW · I5:NS · I6:EW

Impact estimate

Classical optimized plan compared with the static fixed-cycle baseline.

Average waiting time
+21.2%
Fixed cycle
3.3 min
Optimized
2.6 min
Throughput
+22.6%
Fixed cycle
1,441 veh/hr
Optimized
1,767 veh/hr
Fuel use
+23.1%
Fixed cycle
2.6 L/hr
Optimized
2 L/hr
CO₂ output
+23.3%
Fixed cycle
6 kg/hr
Optimized
4.6 kg/hr

Honest benchmark note

For six intersections, this browser-side p=1 QAOA simulator is not expected to beat exhaustive classical search on speed or solution quality. Its role here is to validate the shared QUBO and circuit-ready workflow that could be benchmarked on hardware or larger annealers.

Current QUBO
6 binary variables · coordination across 7 available roads · emergency weight enabled

Run log

Comparison artifacts stored in the app’s built-in key-value store.

1 saved runs
RunScenarioFixed costClassical costQAOA costWait-time change
Tick 1
9/19/2026, 6:50:06 PM
Normal flow-1.61-7.90-7.9021.2%
Built with GenMB
Built with GenMB