Design of traffic sign detection, recognition, and transmission systems for smart vehicles

Traffic sign detection and recognition (TSDR) is an essential component of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). It is mainly designed to enhance driver safety through the fast acquisition and interpretation of traffic signs. However, such systems still suffer from the inability to accurately recognize signs. Moreover, the sharing of wirelessly recognized signs among vehicles is not yet supported by current systems. In some safety scenarios, vehicle-to-vehicle communication of traffic sign information is required. In this article, we first address challenges and undesirable factors facing TSDR systems. After that, we show how to design a TSDR system by addressing some useful techniques used in each stage of the system. For each stage, these techniques are regrouped into different categories. Then, for each category, a short description is given followed by some concluding remarks. Finally, the transmission of the recognized signs is briefly investigated.