Leveraging Multimodal-LLMs Assisted by Instance Segmentation for Intelligent Traffic Monitoring

A robust and efficient traffic monitoring system is essential for smart cities and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), using sensors and cameras to track vehicle movements, optimize traffic flow, reduce congestion, enhance road safety, and enable real-time adaptive traffic control. Traffic monitoring models must comprehensively understand dynamic urban conditions and provide an intuitive user interface for effective management. This research leverages the Large Language-andVision Assistant (LLaVA) visual grounding multimodal large language model (LLM) for traffic monitoring tasks on the realtime Quanser Interactive Lab simulation platform, covering scenarios like intersections, congestion, and collisions. Cameras placed at multiple urban locations collect real-time images from the simulation, which are fed into the LLaVA model with queries for analysis. An instance segmentation model integrated into the cameras highlights key elements such as vehicles and pedestrians, enhancing training and throughput. The system achieves $84.3 \%$ accuracy in recognizing vehicle locations and $76.4 \%$ in determining steering direction, outperforming traditional models.