Intelligent traffic monitoring and control system

Abstract

This thesis presents an intelligent system for monitoring and controlling traffic by sensing vehicles' attributes and using communication between vehicles and roadside infrastructures. The goal of this system is to improve the safety of the commuters and help the drivers in making better decisions by providing them with additional information about the traffic conditions. A prototype system consisting of a roadside unit (RSU) and an on-board unit (OBU) was developed to test the functionalities of the proposed system. The RSU consists of sensors for detecting vehicles and estimating their attributes and a radio for communicating with the OBU. The OBU also has a radio for communication purpose. Afterward, a vehicle was used to test the functionalities of the system and the communication between OBU and RSU was evaluated by emulating the presence of a vehicle. A protocol for exchanging messages between the RSU and the OBU was developed to support effective communication. The efficiency of the communication process was further improved by varying the transmission range of different messages. A format for the message was proposed to convey all the necessary information efficiently. The process of collecting vehicle data, processing them and extracting useful information from the data was discussed here along with some limitations of the proposed system.