The research group Intelligent Vehicles and Traffic Technologies of the Automation Department of the University of Alcalá has developed a system that allows the intelligent control of the opening and closing times of a traffic light that governs a pedestrian crossing, especially in urban areas.
It is a road safety system that ensures that pedestrian traffic at pedestrian crossings is carried out safely, while optimizing the opening and closing times of traffic lights, achieving an improvement in traffic flow in urban areas. For this purpose, the monitoring of waiting areas for pedestrian crossings is carried out by means of a stereoscopic vision system with infrared illumination.
The images provided by the stereoscopic vision system are processed by a computer, obtaining information regarding the presence of pedestrians in the waiting areas. This information is used to act on a traffic light that controls the pedestrian crossing.
The group is looking for licensing agreements, technical cooperation agreements, manufacturing agreements and commercial agreements with technical assistance with companies in the sector of transport infrastructure and traffic safety as well as public institutions, such as municipalities and councils.
The invention relates to a system developed for intelligent traffic light regulation of pedestrian crossings. This system is characterized by associating a pair of digital cameras that make up a stereoscopic vision system and an infrared illumination system that is located next to the waiting area of a pedestrian crossing, so that, the presence of pedestrians in it, can be fully perceived and monitored. It also consists of:
- An electronic synchronization card, based on a small microcontroller, which is responsible for providing synchronization signals to digital cameras so that the images acquired by both cameras of the stereo system are perfectly synchronized with each other.
- A stereoscopic image processor based on an industrial computer, in which all the necessary functions are performed to control the process of image capture and storage in memory, pre-processing and analysis of images and finally, activation, if necessary, of the traffic signal that regulates the pedestrian crossing. The whole process is regulated by the software implemented in the image processor.
- A communication interface between the industrial computer and the traffic light regulator that controls the pedestrian crossing.
- A traffic light regulator that controls the opening and closing time of the traffic light at the pedestrian crossing. It is responsible for controlling the activation states of the traffic light. It receives data asynchronously from the industrial computer through the communication interface.
- Traffic light that allows or prohibits the passage of pedestrians through the monitored crossing. It is a standard signaling equipment located at a pedestrian crossing.
The cameras provide synchronized grayscale images, thanks to the electronic card that allows to guarantee a correct synchronism in the acquisition of images of the stereo system. That images are stored in the stereoscopic image processor.
The industrial computer, which processes and stores the images, must be set in an external case adequately closed and isolated, but that can be easily manipulated during the installation and maintenance phases of the system. In addition, it has a communication interface with the traffic light regulator that controls the monitored pedestrian crossing. This sends control commands through the interface making use of an ETHERNET connection. Finally, there is the traffic light regulator, which acts on the traffic light that controls the pedestrian crossing permit times through the crossing.
These times can be lengthened or shortened adaptively depending on the time required by the pedestrian to finish the crossing safely and the existence or not of pedestrians waiting in the waiting areas.
INNOVATIVE ASPECTS
The invention proposes a system that allows intelligent control of the opening and closing times of a traffic light that governs a pedestrian crossing, especially in urban areas, whose purpose is to provide additional security at that points and increase traffic flow through intelligent management of the traffic lights, making for it a monitoring of the waiting areas using vision systems.
Nothing similar has been found in patent databases or in the scientific literature consulted.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES
The proposed invention has the following advantages:
- Reduction of accidents in pedestrian crossings with traffic lights.
- Increase in traffic flow.
- Reduction of emissions made by vehicles.
- Reduction of stress for pedestrians and drivers.
- Composed of digital cameras and an industrial computer that allow mass production.
- Simple installation in pedestrian crossings
High commercial potential at national and international level with moderate cost
Current development status
Finished technologies
Desired business relationship
Technology selling
Patent licensing
The group is looking for licensing agreements, technical cooperation agreements, manufacturing agreements and commercial agreements with technical assistance with companies in the sector of transport infrastructure and traffic safety as well as public institutions, such as municipalities and councils.
