VIDEO: Scientists say traffic lights’ days are numbered

Traffic lights will be gradually phased out with the introduction of new fully autonomous vehicles, claims a new report published by scientists and researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Swiss Institute of Technology (ETHZ) and the Italian National Research Council ((CNR).

Replacing lights, that were originally invented more than 150-years ago for drivers of horse and carts, will be a new method to regulate traffic that is modelled on an airport's traffic control system.

Called Light Traffic, MIT has released a video to explain how the state-of-the-art replacement works.

Scientists say, instead of red or green signal, in the future autonomous cars entering an intersection will communicate with a central control system embedded into the road.

Once the self-driving vehicle has been recognised, the car can issue a request for a "crossing". Once granted, Light Traffic then designates a specific time slot for the vehicle to pass through a gap made in moving traffic.

This means, at no time, will any vehicle passing through the intersection stop or even pause.

MIT scientist say, thanks autonomous driving vehicles’ greater accuracy cars will be able to cross traffic at higher speeds and with tiny margins, near impossible for humans to judge.

Significantly reducing journey times, MIT's computer modelling claims that it can allow double the number of vehicles though an intersection in the same amount of time as a traffic light-governed junction.

Reducing air pollution from idling traffic is also another objective achieved by the Light Traffic system.

In the future, researchers also claim the technology can be adapted to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists crossing through live traffic without fear of being struck by "irrational" human drivers.