Intelligent transportation system

Various forms of wireless communications technologies have been proposed for intelligent transportation systems.

Short-range communications of 350 m can be accomplished using

• Triangulation method. In developed countries a high proportion of cars contain one or more mobile phones. The phones periodically transmit their presence information to the mobile phone network, even when no voice connection is established. In the mid-2000s, attempts were made to use mobile phones as anonymous traffic probes. As a car moves, so does the signal of any mobile phones that are inside the vehicle. By measuring and analysing network data using triangulation, pattern matching or cell-sector statistics (in an anonymous format), the data was converted into traffic flow information. With more congestion, there are more cars, more phones, and thus, more probes.^[7]

In metropolitan areas, the distance between antennas is shorter and in theory accuracy increases. An advantage of this method is that no infrastructure needs to be built along the road; only the mobile phone network is leveraged. But in practice the triangulation method can be complicated, especially in areas where the same mobile phone towers serve two or more parallel routes (such as a motorway (freeway) with a frontage road, a motorway (freeway) and a commuter rail line, two or more parallel streets, or a street that is also a bus line). By the early 2010s, the popularity of the triangulation method was declining.^{[citation needed]}

• Vehicle re-identification. Vehicle re-identification methods require sets of detectors mounted along the road. In this technique, a unique serial number for a device in the vehicle is detected at one location and then detected again (re-identified) further down the road. Travel times and speed are calculated by comparing the time at which a specific device is detected by pairs of sensors. This can be done using the
  RFID serial numbers from electronic toll collection
  (ETC) transponders (also called "toll tags").
• GPS based methods. An increasing number of vehicles are equipped with in-vehicle satnav/
  GPS (satellite navigation) systems that have two-way communication with a traffic data provider. Position readings from these vehicles are used to compute vehicle speeds. Modern methods may not use dedicated hardware but instead Smartphone based solutions using so called Telematics 2.0 approaches.^[9]
• Smartphone-based rich monitoring. Smartphones having various sensors can be used to track traffic speed and density. The accelerometer data from smartphones used by car drivers is monitored to find out traffic speed and road quality. Audio data and GPS tagging of smartphones enables identification of traffic density and possible traffic jams. This was implemented in Bangalore, India as a part of a research experimental system Nericell.^[10]

Floating car data technology provides advantages over other methods of traffic measurement:

• Less expensive than sensors or cameras
• More coverage (potentially including all locations and streets)
• Faster to set up and less maintenance
• Works in all weather conditions, including heavy rain

Sensing

Technological advances in telecommunications and information technology, coupled with ultramodern/state-of-the-art microchip,

Inductive loop detection

Bluetooth is an accurate and inexpensive way to transmit position from a vehicle in motion. Bluetooth devices in passing vehicles are detected by sensing devices along the road. If these sensors are interconnected they are able to calculate travel time and provide data for origin and destination matrices. Compared to other traffic measurement technologies, Bluetooth measurement has some differences:

• Accurate measurement points with absolute confirmation to provide to the second travel times.
• Is non-intrusive, which can lead to lower-cost installations for both permanent and temporary sites.
• Is limited to how many Bluetooth devices are broadcasting in a vehicle so counting and other applications are limited.
• Systems are generally quick to set up with little to no calibration needed.

Since Bluetooth devices become more prevalent on board vehicles and with more portable electronics broadcasting, the amount of data collected over time becomes more accurate and valuable for travel time and estimation purposes, more information can be found in.^[11]

It is also possible to measure

Radars are mounted on the side of the road to measure traffic flow and for stopped and stranded vehicle detection purposes. Like video systems, radar learns its environment during set up so can distinguish between vehicles and other objects. It can also operate in conditions of low visibility. Traffic flow radar uses a "side-fire" technique to look across all traffic lanes in a narrow band to count the number of passing vehicles and estimate traffic density. For stopped vehicle detection (SVD) and automatic incident detection, 360 degree radar systems are used as they scan all lanes along large stretches of road. Radar is reported to have better performance over longer ranges than other technologies.[13] SVD radar will be installed on all Smart motorways in the UK.^[14]

Information fusion from multiple traffic sensing modalities

The data from the different sensing technologies can be combined in intelligent ways to determine the traffic state accurately. A data fusion based approach that utilizes the road side collected acoustic, image and sensor data has been shown to combine the advantages of the different individual methods.^[15]

Intelligent transportation applications

Emergency vehicle notification systems

In 2015, the EU passed a law required automobile manufacturers to equip all new cars with

The EC funded project SafeTRIP^{[citation needed]} is developing an open ITS system that will improve road safety and provide a resilient communication through the use of S-band satellite communication. Such platform will allow for greater coverage of the Emergency Call Service within the EU.

Automatic road enforcement

A traffic enforcement camera system, consisting of a camera and a vehicle-monitoring device, is used to detect and identify vehicles disobeying a speed limit or some other road legal requirement and automatically ticket offenders based on the license plate number. Traffic tickets are sent by mail. Applications include:

• Speed cameras that identify vehicles traveling over the legal speed limit. Many such devices use radar to detect a vehicle's speed or electromagnetic loops buried in each lane of the road.
• Red light cameras that detect vehicles that cross a stop line or designated stopping place while a red traffic light is showing.
• car pooling
  .
• at grade
  illegally.
• Double white line cameras that identify vehicles crossing these lines.
• High-occupancy vehicle lane cameras that identify vehicles violating HOV requirements.

Variable speed limits

Recently some jurisdictions have begun experimenting with variable speed limits that change with road congestion and other factors. Typically such speed limits only change to decline during poor conditions, rather than being improved in good ones. One example is on Britain's M25 motorway, which circumnavigates London. On the most heavily traveled 14-mile (23 km) section (junction 10 to 16) of the M25 variable speed limits combined with automated enforcement have been in force since 1995. Initial results indicated savings in journey times, smoother-flowing traffic, and a fall in the number of accidents, so the implementation was made permanent in 1997. Further trials on the M25 have been thus far proven inconclusive.^[18]

Collision avoidance systems

Japan has installed sensors on its highways to notify motorists that a car is stalled ahead.^[19]

Cooperative systems on the road

Communication cooperation on the road includes car-to-car, car-to-infrastructure, and vice versa. Data available from vehicles are acquired and transmitted to a server for central fusion and processing. These data can be used to detect events such as rain (wiper activity) and congestion (frequent braking activities). The server processes a driving recommendation dedicated to a single or a specific group of drivers and transmits it wirelessly to vehicles. The goal of cooperative systems is to use and plan communication and sensor infrastructure to increase road safety. The definition of cooperative systems in road traffic is according to the European Commission:^[20][21]

"Road operators, infrastructure, vehicles, their drivers and other road users will cooperate to deliver the most efficient, safe, secure and comfortable journey. The vehicle-vehicle and vehicle-infrastructure co-operative systems will contribute to these objectives beyond the improvements achievable with stand-alone systems."

World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS World Congress) is an annual trade show to promote ITS technologies. ERTICO– ITS Europe, ITS America and ITS AsiaPacific sponsor the annual ITS World Congress and exhibition. Each year the event takes place in a different region (Europe, Americas or Asia-Pacific).^[22] The first ITS World Congress was held in Paris in 1994.^[23]

Smart transportation – new business models

New mobility and smart transportation models are emerging globally.

The Network of National ITS Associations is a grouping of national ITS interests. It was officially announced 7 October 2004 in London. The secretariat is at ERTICO – ITS Europe.[24]

ERTICO – ITS Europe is a public/private partnership promoting the development and deployment of ITS. They connect public authorities, industry players, infrastructure operators, users, national ITS associations and other organisations together. The ERTICO work programme focuses on initiatives to improve transport safety, security and network efficiency whilst taking into account measures to reduce environmental impact.

United States

In the United States, each state has an ITS chapter that holds a yearly conference to promote and showcase ITS technologies and ideas. Representatives from each Department of Transportation (state, cities, towns, and counties) within the state attend this conference.

Latin America

Colombia

In the intermediate cities of Colombia, where the Strategic Public Transportation Systems are implemented, the urban transportation networks must operate under parameters that improve the quality of service provision. Several of the challenges faced by the transportation systems in these cities are aimed at increasing the number of passengers transported in the system and the technological adoption that must be integrated for the management and control of public transportation fleets.

References