Finite state machines are one of the foundational patterns in digital design, and traffic light controllers are the classic teaching example precisely because they map so cleanly onto the FSM abstraction: a small set of discrete states, timed transitions, and outputs that depend on the current state. This video takes a T-intersection variant — a bit more interesting than the standard four-way crossing because the asymmetric geometry forces you to think carefully about which movements conflict and which can overlap safely.

What makes this worth watching is the end-to-end scope. The creator walks through designing the state diagram, coding it in Verilog, simulating the behavior in a testbench, and then actually implementing it on real hardware — a Basys 3 FPGA — starting from a fresh Vivado project. That full pipeline is exactly what trips up beginners: it's easy to find tutorials that stop at simulation, but the jump to synthesis, constraints, and pin assignments is where a lot of learners stall out.

FPGA Discovery consistently produces focused, hands-on FPGA content with clear structure, and this one was made by viewer request — a good signal that it fills a gap other tutorials don't cover well. If you're learning Verilog or working through your first FSM designs, this is a solid concrete project to follow along with on real hardware.