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.

Related Content

  • February 2, 2012
    Bluetooth speed and travel data collection shows cost savings
    Houston TranStar is using Bluetooth sensors to collect speed and travel data in a project which is already demonstrating significant cost savings
  • January 31, 2012
    Libelium's traffic monitoring platform
    Spanish specialist in wireless sensor networks Libelium has launched the Vehicle Traffic Monitoring Platform as part of its Smart Cities solution. The platform is capable of sensing the flow of Bluetooth devices in a given street, roadway or passageway while differentiating hands-free car kits from pedestrian phones. Sensor data is then transferred by a multi-hop ZigBee radio, via an Internet gateway, to a server. Traffic measurements can then be analysed to address congestion of either vehicle or pedestria
  • May 23, 2012
    Bluetooth traffic monitoring
    Clearview Traffic has announced the Golden River M830, a new low-cost journey time monitoring and queue detection solution based on Bluetooth device recognition. A single unit detects and uniquely identifies multiple vehicles simultaneously across all lanes and in both directions. The company claims that on a dual carriageway the cost of an installed site is as little as 10 per cent of an equivalent ANPR installation.
  • April 16, 2018
    Auckland reduces airport journey times
    Getting from the centre of Auckland to the city’s airport used to be fraught with unwanted stress for passengers – but a new system combining radar, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi is smoothing things over. Andrew Stone investigates. Struggling to cope with steady growth in passenger numbers and the costly traffic congestion which that can entail, New Zealand’s Auckland International Airport has deployed an innovative system that is smoothing traffic and passenger flows. The same system is also offering new, data-led