Road traffic congestion monitoring and measurement using active RFID and GSM technology

In this paper, we present an intelligent Traffic Congestion Monitoring & Measurement System called TrafficMonitor to monitor and measure the road traffic congestions using probe vehicle. The concept of probe vehicle has come up in recent times for collecting real time traffic data. Our system provides an easy platform to analyze the traffic movement and congestion pattern. TrafficMonitor is a rapidly deployable, cost-effective and easily maintainable traffic congestion monitoring & measurement system that combines active RFID (based on IEEE 802.15.4 protocol, 2.4 GHz ISM band) and GSM technologies. The congestion detection algorithm is based upon calculation of vehicular speed over a stretch of road and the average waiting time of vehicles at road-crossing. Besides providing a complete description of our system and the concepts developed, the paper also provides a comprehensive description of on-road test results to support our concepts. We also provide a detailed description of all the field trials conducted, various traffic data gathered and finally the conclusions derived from such data. Government agencies, especially traffic control department, may use this system for realtime congestion monitoring by installing the system with probe vehicles. Road research organizations and NGOs may use this for studying and analyzing traffic mobility and congestion patterns.