Traffic light preemption management system

• US 9,685,081 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2012
• Issued: 06/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Guidi, Benedetta, Pizzutilo, Riccardo, Grieco, Giovanni, La Placa, Michelangelo
• Primary Examiner(s): KING, CURTIS J
• Application Number:
  US13/416,167
• Publication Number:
  US 20120161981A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,929 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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. A method for managing traffic lights, comprising:

receiving, from a vehicle, a route to be taken by the vehicle;

identifying, based upon the received route, an intersection to be traversed by the vehicle and traffic lights at the intersection;

categorizing, based upon the received route, the traffic lights;

receiving, from the intersection, a first audio signal;

analysing the received first audio signal to determine movement of the vehicle;

sending, to traffic lights at the intersection and based upon the determined movement, the received route, and the categorizing of the traffic lights, instructions to change states; and

sending, to a broadcasting device positioned at the interaction and based upon the received route and the determined movement, information about the vehicle to be broadcasted by the broadcasting device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein

the broadcasting device broadcasts, to radio systems within vehicles proximate to the interaction, the information about the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein

the broadcasting device broadcasts, to global positioning systems within the vehicles proximate to the interaction, the information about the vehicle.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein

the information about the vehicle includes the route to be taken by the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the intersection, a second audio signal;

analysing the received second audio signal to determine additional movement of the vehicle; and

sending, to traffic lights at the intersection and based upon the determined additional movement, additional instructions to change states.