The correct and prompt definition of priorities at intersections is one of the key issues for vehicular safety and efficient traffic management. Traffic lights currently control only a limited number of intersections and increasing their number is clearly infeasible due to the high costs of deployment and maintenance. A new solution will be possible in a near future, when vehicles will be equipped with wireless technologies. Their capability of communicating and coordinating to each other will create the conditions for the implementation of a virtual traffic light (VTL) architecture, where priorities are autonomously defined by the involved vehicles. With this scenario in mind, we describe a novel VTL algorithm aiming at defining the priorities of the intersections in a distributed and controlled way. Besides the algorithm description, the main related issues are thoroughly discussed. In addition, a real implementation is detailed and the validation of the algorithm is provided. The testbed, based on the IEEE 802.11p short range wireless technology, has been reproduced in a controlled laboratory environment and in a field trial with equipped vehicles. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
A distributed virtual traffic light algorithm exploiting short range V2V communications
Bazzi Alessandro;Zanella Alberto;Masini Barbara M
2016
Abstract
The correct and prompt definition of priorities at intersections is one of the key issues for vehicular safety and efficient traffic management. Traffic lights currently control only a limited number of intersections and increasing their number is clearly infeasible due to the high costs of deployment and maintenance. A new solution will be possible in a near future, when vehicles will be equipped with wireless technologies. Their capability of communicating and coordinating to each other will create the conditions for the implementation of a virtual traffic light (VTL) architecture, where priorities are autonomously defined by the involved vehicles. With this scenario in mind, we describe a novel VTL algorithm aiming at defining the priorities of the intersections in a distributed and controlled way. Besides the algorithm description, the main related issues are thoroughly discussed. In addition, a real implementation is detailed and the validation of the algorithm is provided. The testbed, based on the IEEE 802.11p short range wireless technology, has been reproduced in a controlled laboratory environment and in a field trial with equipped vehicles. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.