Pedestrian Traffic Light Control with Crosswalk FMCW Radar and Group Tracking Algorithm
The increased mobility requirements of modern lifestyles put more stress on existing traffic infrastructure, which causes reduced traffic flow, especially in peak traffic hours. This calls for new and advanced solutions in traffic flow regulation and management. One approach towards optimisation is...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/5/1754 |
| _version_ | 1797473822225465344 |
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| author | Peter Nimac Andrej Krpič Boštjan Batagelj Andrej Gams |
| author_facet | Peter Nimac Andrej Krpič Boštjan Batagelj Andrej Gams |
| author_sort | Peter Nimac |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The increased mobility requirements of modern lifestyles put more stress on existing traffic infrastructure, which causes reduced traffic flow, especially in peak traffic hours. This calls for new and advanced solutions in traffic flow regulation and management. One approach towards optimisation is a transition from static to dynamic traffic light intervals, especially in spots where pedestrian crossing cause stops in road traffic flow. In this paper, we propose a smart pedestrian traffic light triggering mechanism that uses a Frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar for pedestrian detection. Compared to, for example, camera-surveillance systems, radars have advantages in the ability to reliably detect pedestrians in low-visibility conditions and in maintaining privacy. Objects within a radar’s detection range are represented in a point cloud structure, in which pedestrians form clusters where they lose all identifiable features. Pedestrian detection and tracking are completed with a group tracking (GTRACK) algorithm that we modified to run on an external processor and not integrated into the used FMCW radar itself. The proposed prototype has been tested in multiple scenarios, where we focused on removing the call button from a conventional pedestrian traffic light. The prototype responded correctly in practically all cases by triggering the change in traffic signalization only when pedestrians were standing in the pavement area directly in front of the zebra crossing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:22:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eb2beb0db46d4628926cf05f7dcd4548 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:22:48Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-eb2beb0db46d4628926cf05f7dcd45482023-11-23T23:45:36ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202022-02-01225175410.3390/s22051754Pedestrian Traffic Light Control with Crosswalk FMCW Radar and Group Tracking AlgorithmPeter Nimac0Andrej Krpič1Boštjan Batagelj2Andrej Gams3Jozef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaSmart Com d.o.o., Brnčičeva ulica 45, 1231 Ljubljana, SloveniaFaculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Tržaška cesta 25, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaJozef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaThe increased mobility requirements of modern lifestyles put more stress on existing traffic infrastructure, which causes reduced traffic flow, especially in peak traffic hours. This calls for new and advanced solutions in traffic flow regulation and management. One approach towards optimisation is a transition from static to dynamic traffic light intervals, especially in spots where pedestrian crossing cause stops in road traffic flow. In this paper, we propose a smart pedestrian traffic light triggering mechanism that uses a Frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar for pedestrian detection. Compared to, for example, camera-surveillance systems, radars have advantages in the ability to reliably detect pedestrians in low-visibility conditions and in maintaining privacy. Objects within a radar’s detection range are represented in a point cloud structure, in which pedestrians form clusters where they lose all identifiable features. Pedestrian detection and tracking are completed with a group tracking (GTRACK) algorithm that we modified to run on an external processor and not integrated into the used FMCW radar itself. The proposed prototype has been tested in multiple scenarios, where we focused on removing the call button from a conventional pedestrian traffic light. The prototype responded correctly in practically all cases by triggering the change in traffic signalization only when pedestrians were standing in the pavement area directly in front of the zebra crossing.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/5/1754FMCW radarsmart traffic lightsmart citiessmart mobilitytraffic flow optimisationpoint cloud |
| spellingShingle | Peter Nimac Andrej Krpič Boštjan Batagelj Andrej Gams Pedestrian Traffic Light Control with Crosswalk FMCW Radar and Group Tracking Algorithm Sensors FMCW radar smart traffic light smart cities smart mobility traffic flow optimisation point cloud |
| title | Pedestrian Traffic Light Control with Crosswalk FMCW Radar and Group Tracking Algorithm |
| title_full | Pedestrian Traffic Light Control with Crosswalk FMCW Radar and Group Tracking Algorithm |
| title_fullStr | Pedestrian Traffic Light Control with Crosswalk FMCW Radar and Group Tracking Algorithm |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pedestrian Traffic Light Control with Crosswalk FMCW Radar and Group Tracking Algorithm |
| title_short | Pedestrian Traffic Light Control with Crosswalk FMCW Radar and Group Tracking Algorithm |
| title_sort | pedestrian traffic light control with crosswalk fmcw radar and group tracking algorithm |
| topic | FMCW radar smart traffic light smart cities smart mobility traffic flow optimisation point cloud |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/5/1754 |
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