Intelligent Sensors for Real-Time Hazard Detection and Visual Indication on Highways

Abstract

Traffic collisions, in particular high speed car accidents often result in huge damages, long traffic queues and loss of human lives. In this work we present an intelligent modular system that monitors traffic in highways and alerts drivers of sudden stops, in poor visual conditions. The system is composed of several identical modules, to be placed in the middle of a highway’s lane, that sense the lights and communicate their presence and velocity to their neighbor modules via RF. With such information, the nearby modules estimate the velocity of the passing cars. When the module ahead detects a car passing at a much slower speed than what was previously estimated, it alerts the other modules, so they produce a visual indication for the oncoming drivers, preventing accidents. The system operates autonomously using solar energy harvesting.