Skip to main content

Benefits of SMART Signal system

Developed by researchers led by civil engineering associate professor Henry Liu at the University of Minnesota, the SMART Signal (Systematic Monitoring of Arterial Road Traffic Signals) system is said to be reducing congestion on roads controlled by traffic lights. The system automatically collects and processes data from traffic signal controllers at multiple intersections. It then creates performance measures, including information on the times and locations congestion occurs on a given road. Traffic eng
October 17, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Developed by researchers led by civil engineering associate professor Henry Liu at the University of Minnesota, the SMART Signal (Systematic Monitoring of Arterial Road Traffic Signals) system is said to be reducing congestion on roads controlled by traffic lights.

The system automatically collects and processes data from traffic signal controllers at multiple intersections. It then creates performance measures, including information on the times and locations congestion occurs on a given road.  Traffic engineers can use these measures to determine whether signals are properly timed and to monitor the overall performance of the system.

SMART Signal has been deployed at more than thirty intersections in Minnesota and six intersections in Pasadena, California.

According to Steven Misgen, metro traffic engineer at the 2103 Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), the system also has benefits for the travelling public, including reduced congestion and improved travel time throughout a given corridor.

“As a result, they’ll have a better quality of life, [spending] less time sitting in congested intersections,” Misgen says.

A new video from the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Institute highlights the benefits of the system: %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal www.its.umn.edu/Research/FeaturedStudies/smartsignals/index.html#SMARTSignal Smart signals false http://www.its.umn.edu/Research/FeaturedStudies/smartsignals/index.html#SMARTSignal false false%>

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Anniversary year for Traficon
    May 16, 2012
    Traficon’s appearance at this year’s ITS America Annual Meeting coincides with the company’s 20th birthday, and its booth will feature a wide range of video detection products and solutions. Among them will be the company’s Video Image Processor (VIP) that combines traffic flow monitoring and automatic incident detection functionality in one single board. The VIP-T module analyses images from analogue cameras while the VIP-IP can connect to a broad range of IP cameras, supporting both MPEG-4 and new H.264 v
  • Portable, smart desktop laser marker
    November 20, 2013
    IRIS Corporation’s DLP400 Series is, the company says, the world’s first smart desktop laser marker that can be used for both passports and cards. It offers high functionality to meet growing demand for a wide range of identification issuance solutions among government bodies, financial institutions, healthcare providers, insurance companies, universities and card retailers.
  • Portable, smart desktop laser marker
    November 20, 2013
    IRIS Corporation’s DLP400 Series is, the company says, the world’s first smart desktop laser marker that can be used for both passports and cards. It offers high functionality to meet growing demand for a wide range of identification issuance solutions among government bodies, financial institutions, healthcare providers, insurance companies, universities and card retailers.
  • Dr Hiroyuki Watanabe looks ahead to 20th World Congress in Tokyo
    October 24, 2012
    The 20th ITS World Congress will be held in Tokyo from 14-18 October, 2013. Dr Hiroyuki Watanabe, Chairman, Japan Organising Committee reveals some of the highlights that delegates can look forward to.