Skip to main content

Using Bluetooth technology to smooth traffic flow

The Municipality of Randers in Denmark is using Bluetooth technology from Danish company Blip Systems to improve traffic flow in the city. Consultancy company Cowi developed the Cowi CitySense system using BlipTrack sensors from Blip Systems. The popularity of Bluetooth technology makes it ideal for traffic monitoring, as increasing numbers of drivers use Bluetooth-equipped headsets or hands-free systems for their mobile phone. Small boxes with built-in Bluetooth sensors monitor traffic on a 2.5 km long st
December 14, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The Municipality of Randers in Denmark is using Bluetooth technology from Danish company 3778 Blip Systems to improve traffic flow in the city.

Consultancy company Cowi developed the Cowi CitySense system using BlipTrack sensors from Blip Systems.  The popularity of Bluetooth technology makes it ideal for traffic monitoring, as increasing numbers of drivers use Bluetooth-equipped headsets or hands-free systems for their mobile phone.

Small boxes with built-in Bluetooth sensors monitor traffic on a 2.5 km long stretch around Randers Bridge at Tørvebryggen and Havnegade; each time a driver with a Bluetooth device passes, its anonymous Bluetooth signal has been registered by the sensors, enabling the municipality to monitor the vehicle’s travel time and produce a clear picture of the traffic flow.

“We now use the information to adapt to the new traffic lights so that traffic can move faster during rush hour. When the new signals are set up, we will again conduct research on the stretch to see how it has worked and to possibly make adjustments to the new lights, “says Randers Municipality project manager, Henrik Kaldahl.

“We can use these measurements with great confidence,” says Cowi senior specialist Jonas Olesen. “The challenge of the pilot project in Randers was that cyclists and pedestrians carrying a Bluetooth device became part of the statistics. But with a few modifications, we managed to embed them in the system, enabling us to separate cyclists and pedestrians from cars.  Randers is the first place we have used the system, so it is a kind of pilot project. It has given us some really good experiences and enables us to use Cowi CitySense in virtually all parts of the country,” he said.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Lidar: beginning to see the light
    March 14, 2022
    Lidar feels like a technology whose time has come – but why now? Adam Hill talks to manufacturers, vendors and system integrators in the sector to assess the state of play and to find out what comes next
  • Using thermal tech to monitor traffic
    June 20, 2022
    A project in Paris has given Hikvision the chance to cut out the glare
  • Complementing traditional ITS with new technologies
    April 11, 2013
    For a long time, the ITS industry agonised over how to make itself better known to the public. There were pragmatic reasons for this – greater awareness of what it is and does leads to greater lobbying power, an important consideration for a small industry pitched against the might of the road-building fraternity in the fight for budgets – but there was also an element, it must be said, of just wanting to be ‘loved’. But that desire runs up against several realities. The first is that even ‘experts’ strugg
  • Two wheels good
    June 25, 2018
    As cycling becomes an increasingly popular method for commuting and recreation, what moves are afoot to keep the growing numbers of cyclists safe on ever-more-busy roads? Alan Dron puts on his helmet and pedals off to look. It would have seemed incredible just a decade ago, but cycling in London has become almost unfeasibly popular. The Transport for London (TfL) June 2017 Strategic Cycling Analysis document noted there were now 670,000 cycle trips a day in the UK capital, an increase of 130% since 2000.