Pedestrian detection in transit bus application: sensing technologies and safety solutions

Pedestrian safety is a primary traffic issue in urban environment. The use of modern sensing technologies to improve pedestrian safety has remained an active research topic for years. A variety of sensing technologies have been developed for pedestrian detection. The application of pedestrian detection on transit vehicle platforms is desirable and feasible in the near future. In this paper, potential sensing technologies are first reviewed for their advantages and limitations. Several sensors are then chosen for further experimental testing and evaluation. A reliable sensing system will require a combination of multiple sensors to deal with near-range in stationary conditions and longer-range detection in moving conditions. An approach of vehicle-infrastructure integrated solution is suggested for the pedestrian detection in transit bus application.