MassDOT uses Bluetooth to provide real-time information on signs

Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has deployed forty-eight message signs along the Massachusetts Turnpike, Route 3 on the South Shore and the Mid-Cape highway, which will use information from Bluetooth enabled devices to display real time traffic information. The signs will operate seven days a week from 5am to 10pm and will be updated every three minutes with new information. A unique identifier and a time stamp is created when a Bluetooth enabled device, such a cell phone in a car, pass
May 28, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
7213 Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has deployed forty-eight message signs along the Massachusetts Turnpike, Route 3 on the South Shore and the Mid-Cape highway, which will use information from Bluetooth enabled devices to display real time traffic information.

The signs will operate seven days a week from 5am to 10pm and will be updated every three minutes with new information. A unique identifier and a time stamp is created when a Bluetooth enabled device, such a cell phone in a car, passes a roadside detector. When the device passes a second detector, an algorithm is performed using the time stamps and the unique identifier to arrive at the travel time that is displayed on the boards.

The data will be fed to MassDOT’s website and an open data feed for phone app developers will follow in the coming weeks.
 
Announcing the deployment, MassDOT Secretary and CEO Richard A Davey said: “MassDOT is pleased to provide this information to residents and visitors to the Commonwealth,” said Secretary Davey. “We hope they will use this service to add some predictably to their lives and also serve as a reliable resource to help them make decisions on taking alternative routes or using public transit.”
Networking & Communication Systems Urban Traffic Control Air Quality & Weather Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Kapsch: We need to move quicker towards connectivity
    July 27, 2023
    Connectivity requires a lot of different parties to work together – but it’s the only way to get coverage. Alfredo Escribá, chief technology officer of Kapsch, talks to Adam Hill about the value of ‘orchestrated corridors’
    Read More
  • Ex-Conduent CEO: ‘I am not a career transportation person’
    June 11, 2019
    Just prior to resigning as Conduent Transportation CEO, Mick Slattery talked to Adam Hill about the importance of digital and how tech can transform ITS. "I am not a career public sector person,” declares Mick Slattery, chief executive officer of Conduent Transportation, at the beginning of his interview with ITS International. “I am not a career transportation person. I am new to this industry, effective August last year. At my core I’ve spent my career creating and launching new opportunities for clie
    Read More
  • Dynamic messaging has its drawbacks
    December 5, 2018
    Dynamic message signs are a proven means of getting information to drivers on the road – but they have their drawbacks. Robert Gordon looks at the possibilities of expanding DMS capability by bringing that information into the cars themselves Delivery of traffic information to motorists by dynamic message signs (DMS) has proven to be popular and is a principal tool for conveying information developed by the traffic management centre (TMC) to the public. There are, however, limitations in the use of ph
    Read More
  • Via boosts transit options in Miami-Dade
    October 29, 2020
    Each vehicle accepts three passengers to maintain social distancing
    Read More

Highlighted Content