Smart Wireless Vehicle Detection System

Traffic density becomes an important issue in modern cities due to sustained growth in population, higher standards of living, and increased levels of mobility. As a result, environmental pollution is on the rise, natural resource reserves are being depleted, and commute times are lengthened. These conditions are increasing the need for effective management of traffic flow. Improved traffic flow management involves maintaining statistics on transportation infrastructures, and tracking density levels so that enhancements can be implemented. Existing methods for gathering these statistics are costly, labor intensive, and require remote, offline data acquisition. In order to address these issues, we present a Smart Vehicle Detection System (SVEDECS) that provides real-time statistics of traffic flow, capable of tracking vehicle speed and vehicle type. We describe an implementation of SVEDECS comprised of wireless magnetic sensor nodes and a gateway node.