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

  • PTV simulates York’s future
    August 26, 2021
    PTV’s predictive software modelling is helping one of England’s historic cities to improve traffic flow
  • Danish tunnel gets Afry ITS system
    September 28, 2022
    Project is designed to reduce heavy goods vehicle traffic in centre of Copenhagen
  • Promoting cycling is the solution to congestion and pollution
    August 20, 2015
    Cycling offers health, air quality and road space/parking benefits, promoting governments and the EU to look at tax and technology initiatives. David Crawford reports. One way to improve urban air quality is to make green alternatives to car use financially attractive. Incentivising employees to switch their travel-to-work mode to using their own bikes could increase cycling’s modal share of commuting travel by 50%, a recent French research project suggests. The country’s government already subsidises pu
  • Asecap Days 2024: Getting used to the new normal
    August 27, 2024
    Asecap Days 2024 in Milan focused on environmental protection of road infrastructure, digital twin-based maintenance and monitoring of highways as well as the impact of electric vehicles, reports David Arminas