TRAFFIC LIGHT PREEMPTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

• US 20120112927A1
• Filed: 11/04/2011
• Published: 05/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: GRIECO, GIOVANNI, GUIDI, BENEDETTA, LA PLACA, MICHELANGELO, PIZZUTILO, RICCARDO
• Granted Patent: US 9,685,080 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/906
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/04 using optical or ultrasonic detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/087 Override of traffic control, e.g. by signal transmitted by an emergency vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096741 where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station

Abstract

A method and system for managing a set of traffic lights at an intersection, measuring the Doppler Effect of a signal emitted by a vehicle, where such Doppler Effect being a function of the vehicle movement with respect to said intersection, and deciding as a function of such measure a new state for each traffic light at the intersection so as to facilitate passage of the approaching vehicle.

Claims

1-7. -7. (canceled)

8. An apparatus for managing traffic lights, comprising:

a sampling device configured to sample a first signal having a predefined characteristic and emitted by a vehicle;

a processing system configured to perform;

receiving a route to be taken by the vehicle;

identifying an intersection on the route;

identifying a first traffic light controlling, at the intersection, traffic going in a direction to be followed by the vehicle upon arriving at the intersection, according to the route;

identifying a second traffic light controlling, at the intersection, traffic going in another direction;

receiving a first signal sample of the first signal received by the sampling device;

determining, from an analysis of the first signal sample, whether the vehicle is approaching;

upon the vehicle approaching,

instructing the second traffic light to change its state to block traffic and

instructing the first traffic light to change its state to authorize traffic to facilitate passage of the vehicle at the intersection.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein

the analysis of the first signal sample is based upon a function of a measure of a Doppler Effect in the first signal sample.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processing system is further configured to perform:

determining, from an analysis of a second signal sample, whether the vehicle is going away from the intersection; and

upon a determination that the vehicle is going away from the intersection, instructing the first and second traffic lights to resume normal behaviour.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein

the analysis of the second signal sample is based upon a function of a measure of the Doppler Effect in the second signal sample.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein

the first signal is an audio signal have a predefined frequency, and

the sampling device includes a microphone including a band pass filter centred on the predefined frequency.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein

the first signal is a light signal pulsed at a predefined frequency, and

the sampling device includes a camera.

14. A computer program product comprising a computer usable storage medium having stored therein computer usable program code for managing traffic lights, the computer usable program code, which when executed by a computer processing system, causes the computer processing system to perform:

receiving a route to be taken by a vehicle equipped to emit a first signal having a predefined characteristic;

identifying an intersection on the route, the intersection including a sampling device configured to sample the first signal emitted by the vehicle;

identifying a first traffic light controlling, at the intersection, traffic going in a direction to be followed by the vehicle upon arriving at the intersection, according to the route;

identifying a second traffic light controlling, at the intersection, traffic going in another direction;

receiving a first signal sample of the first signal received by the sampling device;

determining, from an analysis of the first signal sample, whether the vehicle is approaching;

upon the vehicle approaching,

instructing the second traffic light to change its state to block traffic and

instructing the first traffic light to change its state to authorize traffic to facilitate passage of the vehicle at the intersection.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein

the analysis of the first signal sample is based upon a function of a measure of a Doppler Effect in the first signal sample.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer processing system is further configured to perform:

determining, from an analysis of a second signal sample, whether the vehicle is going away from the intersection; and

upon a determination that the vehicle is going away from the intersection, instructing the first and second traffic lights to resume normal behaviour.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein

the analysis of the second signal sample is based upon a function of a measure of the Doppler Effect in the second signal sample.

18. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein

the first signal is an audio signal have a predefined frequency, and

the sampling device includes a microphone including a band pass filter centred on the predefined frequency.

19. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein

the first signal is a light signal pulsed at a predefined frequency, and

the sampling device includes a camera.

20. The computer program product of claim 14, further comprising

broadcasting, using a broadcasting device positioned at the intersection, a second signal including information about the vehicle, wherein

the information comprises:

current GPS coordinates of the vehicle; and

/or

an estimate of a current speed of the vehicle.