Vehicular traffic control: A ubiquitous computing approach

Abstract

Vehicular traffic is a major problem in modern cities. We collectively waste huge amounts of time and resources while travelling through traffic congestion. Significant savings of fuel and time could be achieved if traffic control mechanism could be effectively discovered. With the advent of increasingly sophisticated traffic management systems, such as those incorporating dynamic traffic assignments, more stringent demands are being placed upon the available real time traffic data. To address the problem of real time traffic data availability and processing needs, we propose a method which uses novel concept of ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) which uses ubiquitous database and intelligent agents for traffic data management. The concept of ubicomp is shifting computing paradigm from machines in a room to the augmented contexts in the real world. Ubiquitous database will make data everywhere available automatically, and it augments object that manages information about itself. The proposed system uses URA (Unique Routing Agent) to handle the distribution of database, route discovery and route maintenance. The method has been simulated for the measurement of traffic related parameters like traffic load, occupancy and trip time. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.