traffic light flow control

Vehicle traffic is steadily increasing worldwide, especially in the most populous metropolitan areas. This results in ever-increasing traffic congestion, which is of great concern to traffic controllers. Current methods for traffic monitoring and control are not sufficiently efficient in terms of performance, cost and maintenance, making a breakthrough in the industry more necessary than ever.

This project presents the design of a totally innovative system that intelligently manages traffic signals at an intersection. Specifically, we present a control system based on a wireless sensor network (RSI) and a new algorithm to control flow sequences. This technique adapts automatically to traffic conditions, and is applicable to both individual and interconnected intersections. The basis of its operation is as follows: the wireless sensor network transmits its data to a controller, which in turn is able to automatically operate the traffic lights at the intersection in real time using the algorithm.

This is a huge improvement in terms of performance, cost and maintenance over the other systems already mentioned. If it is implemented, it could contribute to making citizens’ journeys more efficient in any city in the world. Therefore, and to prove the great advantage of its use, the following pages detail a project aimed at implementing the system on the Igara inter-section, one of San Sebastian’s traffic congestion hotspots.