Intelligent Transportation Systems

When I think about the future of transportation, the image that pops into my mind is the world of the Jetsons - a world of automation and intelligent transportation systems. A place where machines have the ability to sense and understand their surroundings to allow for a safer more efficient transportation environment. With major innovations slowly taking place all around us, we do not realize how quickly Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are becoming part of our every day life. Implementations such as FastTrack to stop delays at bridge tolls, new technology in vehicles such as the Lexus LS 460 with advanced parking guidance so the car can park itself, Land Rover with adjustable suspension TerrainResponse™, or the Infiniti with wireless connectivity...all these innovations lend themselves to creating more intelligence in the transportation sector.

What is an intelligent transportation system? The term refers to efforts to add information and communications technology to transport infrastructure and vehicles in an effort to manage factors that typically are at odds with each other, such as vehicles, loads, and routes to improve safety and reduce vehicle wear, transportation times and fuel consumption. The last few years have seen the emergence of many new technologies that can potentially have major impacts on Intelligent Transportation Systems. A recent study by the UK Governments Office of Science and Innovation, which examined how future intelligent infrastructure would evolve to support transportation over the next 50 years looked at a range of new technologies, systems and services that may emerge over that period. One key class of technology that was identified as having a significant role in delivering future intelligence to the transport sector were wireless sensor networks (Motes) and in particular the fusion of fixed and mobile networks to help deliver a safe, sustainable and robust future transport system based on the better collection of data, its processing and dissemination and the intelligent use of the data in a fully connected environment. Motes can also be augmented with additional sensors – such as those for detecting light, temperature and acceleration – hence enhancing their features and making their application areas virtually limitless. It is generally perceived that Motes will become the low-cost, ubiquitous sensor of the future, especially once its size shrinks dramatically to merit its name.

Researchers at Newcastle University have been at the forefront of looking into the technology challenges of using these small, low-cost and smart wireless sensors in transport and the application areas where they could be employed. It is clear to the ITS community that the emergence of low cost sensors will open up new paradigms in how we can pervasively collect data from sensors, convey information along fixed and mobile low cost wireless networks (partly or fully formed or ad-hoc) and provide a ‘connected environment’ where individuals, vehicles and infrastructure can co-exist and cooperate, thus delivering more knowledge about the transport environment, the state of the network and who indeed is traveling or wishes to travel. This may offer benefits in terms of real-time management, optimization of transport systems, intelligent design and the use of such systems for innovative road charging and possibly carbon trading schemes as well as through the Cooperative Vehicle and Highway Systems for safety and control applications. See the research and potential use of a Mote based wireless sensor network in the video below:

Initial studies suggest vehicle to vehicle, vehicle to infrastructure, and infrastructure to infrastructure communication and in-vehicle monitoring and environmental monitoring may exist for Motes in the transport domain. Over the last few years, many different versions of 'smartdust devices' have been designed and built by various companies and institutions. Such devices can be used to sense a wide range of environmental parameters as well as vehicle speed, vehicle direction and vehicle presence in the infrastructure. Even though there are several platforms available on the market, Newcastle University chose Crossbow's MICA family motes for the EMMA and TRACKSS projects due to its commercial success in many wireless sensor network applications. Also, Newcastle University has successfully used MICA family motes in its other research projects such as the ASTRA project. Low power wireless communication and low power sensing capabilities are essential for sensor network applications which are supported by Crossbow's Mote family.

The ASTRA project investigated the use of mobile ad-hoc networks, and more specifically, Motes for transport applications. The project examined the current state-of-the-art using MICA motes. A trial using Motes technology was hosted in Newcastle with a pervasive intelligent corridor established by a network of fixed Motes on roads near Newcastle Central Station. Mobile Motes were also placed in several buses. Communication between a static node and a moving node on-board a vehicle was achieved, showing that communication can take place between road side and vehicles using a network of Motes. Evaluation of the system revealed that the main limitation of the technology at the present time is battery life. The experiments have demonstrated that Motes can be used for communication between a fixed infrastructure and a moving vehicle up to a speed of 50 mph. Further testing of the devices at higher speeds (60 and 70 mph) to asses the suitability of smartdust/Motes in applications alongside fast moving roads such as a motorway will be conducted.

The focus of the EU funded TRACKSS project is to research advanced communications concepts, open inter operable and scalable system architectures that allow easy upgrading, advanced sensor infrastructure, dependable software, robust positioning technologies and their integration into intelligent co-operative systems to support a range of core functions in the areas of road and vehicle safety and traffic management and control. The overall aim is to develop new systems for cooperative sensing and predict flows, infrastructure and environmental conditions surrounding traffic, with a view to improving road transport safety and efficiency. To support the demonstration phase of the project, Newcastle University will develop a new technology for ‘smart’ detection on vehicles and infrastructure and a common framework for data collection and access from the entire array of sensors being deployed and tested in the TRACKSS project.

In the case of EMMA, the focus is automobiles and their constituent parts, and the infrastructure they utilize (both physical in the sense of roads and the ICT embedded in them for monitoring and control purposes). If we think more widely at present, most of the world’s computing power is already embedded invisibly into the things around us. The personal computers, music players and other gadgets are just the tip of the iceberg. They probably represent no more than 1% of the computing power we have deployed around us. A typical car today will have at least 20 microprocessors and a host of other electronics contributing to the general functionality required by a modern car as well as the ‘value added services’ which may be the unique selling point of a particular vehicle – whether the application, be: better information on how the vehicle is running; safety applications; or infotainment in the vehicle. The Embedded Middleware in Mobility Applications project (EMMA) application domain of transport will be taken as a pilot example where EMMA will foster cost-efficient ambient intelligence systems with optimal performance, high confidence and faster deployment. The MICAz Mote will be the best suitable platform for the EMMA project since it features sensing and networking capabilities with low power consumption.

The EMMA and TRACKSS projects being pursued by Newcastle University are committed to play a major role in creating new possibilities in the future ITS by using Mote technology. For more information on Crossbow's Mote platforms, contact sales or visit our website.

Comments

[modd]

Very useful article, thanks!

[Ann]

Researchers at Newcastle University have been at the forefront of looking into the technology challenges of using these small, low-cost and smart wireless sensors in transport and the application areas where they could be employed.

[Dr Alan Tully]

Nice paper. I assume based on a recent paper by Budi Arief, Phil Blythe, Richard Fairchild, Kirusnapillai Selvarajah and Alan Tully!

A more relevant Newcastle University link could be
http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/research/

More project information can be found at
EMMA http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/research/current%20projects?pid=262
TRACKSS
http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/research/current%20projects?pid=261
ASTRA
http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/research/past%20projects?pid=218