A Self-Powered Bluetooth Network for Intelligent Traffic Light Junction Management

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are increasingly used in Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) applications, especially in dynamic management of signalized intersections. This paper proposes a Bluetooth network architecture in order to monitor vehicular traffic flows near to a traffic light. The proposed architecture is characterized by a novel algorithm in order to determine green times and phase sequences of traffic lights, based on measured values of traffic flows. It is known that the wireless sensor networks are characterized by very low power devices, so the continuous information transmission reduces the life cycle of the whole network. To this end, the proposed architecture, provides a technique to power the sensor nodes based on piezoelectric materials which allow to produce potential energy taking advantage of the vibration produced by the passage of vehicles on the road. Key–Words: Wireless Sensor Networks, Intelligent Transportation System, Traffic Lights, Queues Management, Piezoelectric materials