Dynamic Traffic Light Timing Tony Faillaci John Gilroy Ben Hughes Justin Porter Zach Zientek

Objective To improve timing of traffic lights with a robust, extensible solution that will ultimately cause less frustration at the wheel and improve gas mileage of traffic

Previous Solutions Pressure Plate/induction coil under pavement Radar/Motion detecting camera Police officers controlling traffic (for events and/or signal outages) These options are viable solutions, however, they don’t employ any sophisticated traffic monitoring algorithms to change the timing of traffic lights to efficiently handle any change in traffic flow rates

Project Goals Design and implement a four way intersection with traffic flowing in each direction. Traffic is monitored and accounted for utilizing our proprietary software within budget and time constraints Both hardware and software are extensible and can evolve with new traffic conditions

Block Diagram C# Application monitors intersection PIC analyzes logic on LED board USB Interface to LED Board Output to LEDs Traffic Responds to light signals

Design Requirements Traffic Light Timing/Flow Rate Algorithms Visual Detection Software to Hardware Interfacing 40-pin PIC Demonstration modeling

Design Requirements Traffic Light Timing/Flow Rate Algorithms –Lane Prioritization –Left & Straight Turns –Yield & Override modes –Error detection

Design Requirements Visual Detection –Suspended camera 1MP webcam mounted above intersection providing a birds eye view –Microsoft Visual C# Frame Comparison Hot-Spot Monitoring Lane Triggers & Vehicle Frequency Control Center

Intersection Observation Visual Detection –Suspended camera –Green boxes define motion regions –Detected motion triggers response methods

Dynamic Decision Making Control application –Checks current state –Looks at triggered conditions –Decides next best state and formulates a time to run –Updates intersection

Design Requirements Software to Hardware Interface: –USB interface board –Five open collector output terminals –Since the USB board outputs 0.6V, the PIC will not read that as being a binary high. Pull-up resistors were used to up the voltage to 5V +- 5% –Reverse Logic –Receives signal from computer, USB interface board relays the high or low voltage through its output terminals, and sends it to a PIC

Design Requirements 40-pin PIC –8 input terminals, 20 output terminals, 2 VDD/Gnd pins –PIC reads digital logic from the USB board, processes the data using our PIC Basic Pro code, and outputs logic to turn on/off LEDs –Input and Output Buffers

Debug Board Photo USB interface board on the left bottom The PIC decoder board is on the bottom right The LED testing board is on the top

Demonstration Model AutoCAD representation of our intersection 2 lanes in each direction (at the time)

Demonstration Model Zoomed in view of intersection w/ camera looking down upon intersection

Problems Encountered PIC seems to have a mind of its own –After programming the device, it will work, but given a day or two of rest, it needs to be reprogrammed Shipping of materials –Some items were on backorder and took a while to arrive here Soldering –Using a board from RadioShack was pretty cumbersome to solder. Also having to make solder-lines was a learning experience Software –Continually finding more cases to add to PIC and C# applications –Past, Current, Future light decisions are complex Timings –How long does a car need to clear an intersection? –What formulas consider all lane flows and give a sensible timing for the next period?

Project Management: Budget Thus far, our project is within budget constraints set in June Projected cost in June was $240 Total spent thus far is a little over Items purchased, RadioShack board, LEDs, wire, dowel, PVC poles, Hot Wheels track and cars, light boxes for LEDs, USB interface board

Project Management: Task Allocation Hardware –Ben –Tony Software –Zach –John –Tony Setup and Demonstration –Justin –Ben –Zach –John –Tony

Project Management: Schedule Breakdown June –Write design proposal –Order/Receive parts –Design LED board –Design Software Framework July –Soldier and assemble LED board –Debug board –Status update –Test USB interface to LED board –Finalize software for both the PIC and C# application August –Preparation for demonstration –Write Final report

Summary Project is on schedule and working as designed Need to find a way to get demonstration cars to move through track consistently without error Collectively we’ve learned to work efficiently and effectively as a team