Adaptive traffic control system (ATCS) is a
traffic management strategy in which
traffic signal
Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic.
Traffic light ...
timing changes, or adapts, based on actual traffic demand. This is accomplished using an adaptive traffic control system consisting of both hardware and software.
Every Day Counts initiative
The U.S.
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
, through its Every Day Counts initiative, is working to accelerate the adoption of adaptive signal control technologies in the U.S. Its website states, "Real-time management of traffic systems is proven to work, yet these systems have been deployed on less than 1 percent of existing traffic signals. FHWA is now working to bring these technologies to the rest of the country."
Examples
InSync adaptive traffic control system is a real-time adaptive traffic control system that enables traffic signals to immediately adapt to traffic demand.
MASSTR
MASSTR, the' Meadowlands Adaptive Signal System for Traffic Reduction, is an adaptive traffic control system commissioned by the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) for a forty square mile region in the New Jersey Meadowlands. Adaptive Signal ...
(Meadowlands Adaptive Signal System for Traffic Reduction) located in the Meadowlands Region of northern
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
will incorporate over 128 signals when complete. As of June 2013, over 50 of the signals were operational. The project built by the
New Jersey Meadowlands Commission
The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC; formerly the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission) was a regional zoning, planning and regulatory agency in northern New Jersey. Its founding mandates were to protect the delicate balance of n ...
(NJMC) is a network self-adaptive signals utilizing the
Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System
The Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System, abbreviated SCATS, is an intelligent transportation system that manages the dynamic (on-line, real-time) timing of signal phases at traffic signals, meaning that it tries to find the best phasing (i. ...
(SCATS). MASSTR was awarded a $10 million TIGER2 grant from the
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
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MOVA (Microprocessor-Optimised Vehicle Actuation) uses inductive loops in the carriageway to detect traffic on each approach to an isolated junction, and vary the signal timings as required.
[Transport in the Urban Environment, 1997, Chapter 40]
See also
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SURTRAC Scalable Urban Traffic Control (Surtrac) is an adaptive traffic control system developed by researchers at the Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Surtrac dynamically optimizes the control of traffic signals to improve traffic flow for ...
adaptive traffic control system
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SCOOT
Scoot Pte Ltd, operating as Scoot, is a Singaporean low-cost airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. It began its operations on 4 June 2012 on medium and long-haul routes from Singapore, predominantly to various airports t ...
References
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External links
Official site of the Federal Highway Administration
Traffic signals