Thai professor uses a shared mathematical language to work with Chinese peers in Wuhan, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and help drivers make better decisions on the road.
“:”Science reporter Holly Chik investigates Chinese-Thai collaboration in fundamental science and cutting-edge technology. As part of the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing’s influence on Bangkok spans everything from smart city AI to fusion energy. In the fifth part of the series , she looks at how the two countries have teamed up to tackle traffic congestion. In the world of transport, scientists share a common mathematical language to solve traffic problems in major cities through data analysis and real-time computing. That is how Agachai Sumalee – a professor at the school of integrated innovation at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok – works with Chinese peers in Wuhan, Guangzhou and Shenzhen to help drivers make better decisions on the road. “We have the mathematical language which transcends borders,” he said in an interview in Bangkok. “If you talk about a specific problem in Guangzhou, it’s different compared to Bangkok of course. But when we look at the format of the network set-up, data analysis and modelling, it becomes more or less the same.” Thai innovation hub helps China step up scientific collaboration The Thai capital ranked 11th on a 2019 global congestion index by Dutch navigation device maker TomTom, which added that Bangkok residents spent an average of eight days and 14 hours in rush hour traffic that pre-pandemic year. The city of 10 million went on a three-day special holiday in November when it hosted the Apec summit to clear the roads for world leaders attending the meeting.
