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

  • ISS and CitySync showcase ANPR solutions at World Congress
    September 26, 2012
    ISS Europe and CitySync, specialists in detection and ANPR solutions for the ITS market, will use the ITS World Congress to showcase the Jet-Aludra which incorporates an IR ANPR camera, colour overview camera and an on-board processor. This cost effective Intelligent ANPR camera processes images at the time of capture, so smaller packets of information can be transferred via wireless 3G or wired connections to a central server for review or directly to a police back office facility, matching against hotlist
  • PTV Group launches global traffic survey
    February 26, 2014
    Transport planning software company PTV Group has launched an online survey, 'The Strategy – How Cities Manage Traffic' (link http://vision-traffic.ptvgroup.com/index.php?id=8553), in an effort to discover the strategies used by the world’s cities and local authorities in planning their transport strategy. The survey covers actual requirements and the measures taken to achieve set goals on optimising driving speeds, increasing road capacity and moderating the effects of congestion; changes to mobility pl
  • NMi’s efficient calibration for enforcement technology
    March 24, 2014
    Netherlands based NMi has developed an array of accurate measuring systems for a range of traffic-related applications. Typical duties for these calibration systems include determining the accuracy of truck tachographs, parking meters that charge by the minute, speed measuring equipment or charging points for electric vehicles. The company claims expertise in meeting the legislative requirements in a wide array of countries, with worldwide acceptance of test reports or certification provided by NMi for use
  • ITS Australia appoints first academic to board of directors
    November 30, 2018
    ITS Australia has appointed Professor Majid Sarvi from the University of Melbourne to its board of directors. Sarvi, the founder of transport technology programme AIMES, is the first academic to join the board. AIMES (Australian Integrated Multimodal EcoSystem) includes the university’s live test bed on Melbourne’s streets, and has close links with Michigan Department of Transportation. Sarvi described it as a “great honour to be elected by my peers in the ITS industry and to have the opportunity t