Markov Decision Process for Traffic Control at an Isolated Intersection

In this paper, a new control method based on Markov Decision Process for a simple traffic intersection is proposed. At the intersection, different directions have the arrival traffic flows and each has a single queue. The non-conflicting flows constitute a combination which possesses the optimal sequence to occupy the intersection. The iterative algorithm is used to minimize the number of vehicles waiting in the queue and the vehicles average waiting time. However, in this dynamic control, the more important thing is that the fairness among the combinations for maintaining the system stability is taken into account. As shown by the comparison of simulation results, it is necessary to use fairness control when global optimization is acquired. Statistical analysis of simulation results at different arrival rates indicates that the approach has a good performance.