100 years of Traffic Light

Gay and lesbian crossing signal figures will adorn crosswalks in Munich to mark Christopher Street Day (CSD). Holding hands or standing in a tight embrace, gay, lesbian, and heterosexual couples light the way for pedestrians in the Bavarian capital alongside traditional traffic light men. The Siemens signals be found in Munich's Glockenbach quarter until mid of July, where pedestrians traverse the crosswalk at the intersection of Blumenstrasse and Pestalozzi under the watchful eyes of two red female figures.

Siemens outfitted in the context of this years Christopher Street Day a total of five crosswalks with ten pedestrian signals in the Glockenbach quarter (Munich) with gay, lesbian, and heterosexual couples. To equip crossing signals with customized symbols like the lesbian couple, either special masks can be inserted into the signal fields or diffuser lenses can be used. Originally, traffic lights used light bulbs, and the symbols were cut out of sheet metal and placed between the colored lens and the bulb. In today’s LED traffic lights, however, all of the signals are created with masks placed in front of the removable outer lens in the LED unit. The diffuser lenses in the LED signal heads are made of colorless or colored plastic. The signals can be converted back to display their original single male figure at any time, as the special inserts added to the individual signals are removable.

Gay and lesbian crossing signal figures will adorn crosswalks in Munich to mark Christopher Street Day (CSD). Holding hands or standing in a tight embrace, gay, lesbian, and heterosexual couples light the way for pedestrians in the Bavarian capital alongside traditional traffic light men. The Siemens signals be found in Munich's Glockenbach quarter until mid of July, where pedestrians traverse the crosswalk at the intersection of Blumenstrasse and Pestalozzi under the watchful eyes of two red female figures.

Siemens has been producing components for road traffic solutions since 1967 in Augsburg, Germany. Every year, around 22,000 traffic lights (signal heads) and 2,000 controllers leave the factory. And customers are guaranteed that any damaged devices will be replaced within 1-2 days.

Thanks to a new control device from Siemens, cities can manage their traffic lights from a private "cloud" and correct problems without turning traffic lights off – and this from any location in the world, via smart phone, tablet, or computer.

Since 2010, Siemens has been producing traffic lights with LED inserts. After assembly, employees test the functionality of every traffic light. In the picture: The Siemens Intelligent Traffic Solutions plant in Augsburg, Germany.

Traffic lights with LEDs last much longer than conventional signal lamps, and compared to conventional light bulbs, LED technology can achieve energy savings of up to 90 percent. In the picture: The Siemens Intelligent Traffic Solutions plant in Augsburg, Germany

Controllers (left) are the crucial component at crossroads. They manage the interaction between traffic computer, detectors and signaling devices. Worldwide, controllers have to meet a wide variety of requirements. Siemens traffic controllers are designed for deployment around the globe. In the picture: The Siemens Intelligent Traffic Solutions plant in Augsburg, Germany

Cities are using Siemens' traffic control center platform to control and direct traffic flows. In Augsburg, Siemens configures traffic computer systems (left) according to the customer's needs.

A product manager and designer discuss the details of an LED signaling device. On the outside, traffic lights haven't changed much over the last decades. But inside a traffic light, groundbreaking changes have taken place. Today traffic lights are designed using modern technology, for example the simulation of light output before production begins.

At the Siemens Training Center for Road Traffic Solutions in Munich, around 650 service technicians, engineering employees and sales representatives learn all there is to know about components for road traffic solutions – from a general introduction to what is required to put a traffic light into operation. The aim of the intensive course work is to ensure all Siemens traffic solutions are installed safely and correctly.

Intelligent software and cloud-based solutions from are revolutionizing our mobility. New technologies ensure more efficient traffic management not only in metropolitan centers, but also in regional and national capitals. Tight budgets are no obstacle: Self-financing and energy-saving solutions combined with forward-looking parking space and street light management not only lessen the burden on public coffers, but also contribute to the refinancing of traffic infrastructure. In the picture: Stuttgart, Germany

Intelligent software and cloud-based solutions from are revolutionizing our mobility. New technologies ensure more efficient traffic management not only in metropolitan centers, but also in regional and national capitals. Tight budgets are no obstacle: Self-financing and energy-saving solutions combined with forward-looking parking space and street light management not only lessen the burden on public coffers, but also contribute to the refinancing of traffic infrastructure. In the picture: Erlangen, Germany

With the aid of Sitraffic SmartGuard software, municipal traffic controllers can access a central traffic control system via a so-called Private Cloud from their PC, tablet or smartphone, enabling them to conveniently and efficiently control traffic systems such as traffic lights, detectors or parking garages as if they were standing right next to the traffic computer.

Intelligent software and cloud-based solutions from are revolutionizing our mobility. New technologies ensure more efficient traffic management not only in metropolitan centers, but also in regional and national capitals. Tight budgets are no obstacle: Self-financing and energy-saving solutions combined with forward-looking parking space and street light management not only lessen the burden on public coffers, but also contribute to the refinancing of traffic infrastructure. In the picture: Charlotte, North Carolina

Intelligent software and cloud-based solutions from are revolutionizing our mobility. New technologies ensure more efficient traffic management not only in metropolitan centers, but also in regional and national capitals. Tight budgets are no obstacle: Self-financing and energy-saving solutions combined with forward-looking parking space and street light management not only lessen the burden on public coffers, but also contribute to the refinancing of traffic infrastructure. In the picture: Quito, Ecuador

Traffic lights with LED technology cut the cost of energy by as much as 90 percent because LEDs only need one-tenth of the energy consumed by incandescent bulbs. And that is not the only reason why more and more operators are switching to the new technology: LEDs have a lifetime that is ten times longer than that of conventional incandescent bulbs, making them a worthwhile investment whichever way you look at it.

In the picture: Service of a Traffic light in London.

Siemens supplied Vienna with the road traffic management system to control the flow of cars in the city center, thus significantly improving and optimizing the flow of traffic in Greater Vienna. In addition to providing monitoring and control for more than 1,200 traffic signals, the traffic control computer system serves as the basis for implementing traffic control, management, guidance and information strategies for Vienna's road traffic. The traffic situation on the roads is displayed by means of a multimedia wall that is 4 meters wide and 2.40 meters high.

Efficient traffic control, support for individual drivers in hazardous traffic situations and linking of road users by radio: "Cooperative traffic lights" are a good example for the powerful traffic management and efficient safe driving assistance systems of the future. The traffic control program ensures the exchange of information between vehicles and traffic lights using WLAN technology. In the picture: Frankfurt

In 1924 Siemens installed the first set of automatically operated traffic lights on Berlin's Potsdamer Platz (picture from 1936).