PDMS-FBG-Based Fiber Optic System for Traffic Monitoring in Urban Areas

This article introduces fiber Bragg grating (FBG) system for monitoring selected traffic flow parameters in urban areas. The system is able to monitor traffic density or speed of cars driving in single lane. The proposed system consists of five Bragg gratings encapsulated in Polydimethylsiloxane polymer and is characterized by easy and inexpensive installation in the milled upper layer of the road covered with an asphalt mixture. The results of first operational tests presented in this study include 3978 passing vehicles of various specifications. The system's vehicle detection success rate is 99.62%. And further, a mean absolute error 1.35 kph and a relative error 2.62% when measuring vehicle speed.