Bluetooth-based traffic detection

Traffax has launched BluFax, based on the globally ubiquitous Bluetooth digital communications protocol, which operates by detecting the MAC addresses of Bluetooth signals from passing cars.
February 6, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A BluFax freeway installation in Indiana
2262 Traffax has launched BluFax, based on the globally ubiquitous 1835 Bluetooth digital communications protocol, which operates by detecting the MAC addresses of Bluetooth signals from passing cars. By positioning two units at distances of between 1-3km, vehicle travel times are calculated from the relative detection times recorded by the two units. Traffax has licensed the patent-pending technology from the University of the Maryland, where the concept originated under the support of the Maryland State Highway Administration.

Traffax says Bluetooth address matching can be used for a number of applications including measurement of travel times on both freeway and arterial roadways, measurement of origin-destination patterns, and tracking of pedestrian flows. Since it directly measures travel times and space-mean speeds, Traffax claims BluFax is one of the few technologies that offers the ability to accurately measure arterial travel times. The company says that demonstrated detection rates exceeding five per cent of the total traffic stream, yield sample sizes adequate for reliable measurement of arterial flows.

There are two versions of the Traffax BluFax unit. An off-line version is offered that stores its measurements on removable storage media for subsequent processing. This device is typically used for traffic studies, performance measurement and validation of other data collection techniques. It is self-powered and requires no communications.

A real-time version is also offered that continuously transmits the MAC addresses and detection times of passing vehicles to a collection site for continuous processing. The real-time unit is used for such applications as display of travel times on variable message signs, and data inputs to 511 telephone systems.
Detection, Monitoring & Machine Vision

Related Content

  • January 30, 2012
    Road safety systems on show at ITS World Congress
    A vast array of new products and systems for aiding road safety were displayed at the ITS World Congress in October. David Crawford assesses a selection of safety initiatives exhibited in Orlando. Vital roles for ITS applications in road traffic safety emerge clearly from a new report from the US Transportation Safety Advancement Group. The report has been carried out for the Next Generation 911 What's Next Forum, which is preparing the way for future development of the US national 911 emergency single call
    Read More
  • January 23, 2012
    Hard shoulder running aids uniform traffic flow and safer driving
    David Crawford detects a market for European experience. Well-established now in at least three European countries, Hard Shoulder Running (HSR) on motorways is exciting growing interest in the US. A November 2010 Report to Congress by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), on the Efficient Use of Highway Capacity, notes the role of HSR in the European-style Active Traffic Management (ATM) strategies now being recommended for implementation in the US where, until recently, they were virtually unknown.
    Read More
  • July 16, 2012
    A fresh approach to electronic fee collection
    The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is pioneering fresh approaches to Electronic Fee Collection (EFC) deployment in the US. Its new system, operational since January 2009 on all buses and commuter trains, is the country's first full-network rollout of transit e-ticketing technology built on an open-payment network, according to the organisation's Technology Programme Development Manager Craig Roberts.
    Read More
  • January 31, 2012
    Innovative traffic information system
    From the roadside James Foster compiles some eye-catching news, deployments and product picks from the work zone
    Read More

Highlighted Content