Freeway-traffic data processing

Two basic data processing problems associated with freeway traffic are formulated: estimation of traffic variables (section mean speed and density) and detection of occurrence of an incident or accident within a given section of the road. The existing traffic sensors and the current estimation techniques and their shortcomings are reviewed. Stochastic models for traffic variables are developed and used to design optimum recursive estimators. The incident detection problem is introduced as a potential area where many interesting research topics exist.