Research Article
Implementation and Evaluation of a Traffic Light
Assistance System Based on V2I Communication in
a Simulation Framework
Cristina Olaverri-Monreal ,
1
Javier Errea-Moreno ,
2
and Alberto Díaz-Álvarez
3
1
Department of Information Engineering and Security, University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien, Vienna, Austria
2
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Universidad P´ ublica de Navarra, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain
3
Universidad Polit´ ecnica de Madrid, Instituto Universitario de Investigaci´ on del Autom´ ovil (INSIA), Madrid, Spain
CorrespondenceshouldbeaddressedtoCristinaOlaverri-Monreal;olaverri@technikum-wien.at
Received 30 October 2017; Accepted 8 February 2018; Published 18 March 2018
AcademicEditor:YuchuanDu
Copyright©2018Cristina Olaverri-Monreal et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons
AttributionLicense,whichpermitsunrestricteduse,distribution,andreproductioninanymedium,providedtheoriginalworkis
properlycited.
CooperativeIntelligentTransportationSystems(C-ITS)maketheexchangeofinformationpossiblethroughcooperativesystems
thatbroadcasttrafcdatatoenhanceroadsafety.Trafclightassistance(TLA)systemsinparticularutilizereal-timetrafclight
timingdatabyaccessingtheinformationdirectlyfromthetrafcmanagementcenter.TotestthereliabilityofaTLAsystembased
onnetworkedintervehicularinteractionwithinfrastructure,wepresentinthispaperanapproachtoperformtheoreticalstudies
inalab-controlledscenario.Teproposedsystemretrievesthetrafclighttimingprogramwithinarangeinordertocalculatethe
optimalspeedwhileapproachinganintersectionandshowsarecommendedvelocitybasedonthevehicle’scurrentacceleration
andspeed,phasestateofthetrafclight,andremainingphaseduration.Resultsshowanincreaseindrivingefciencyinthe form
ofimprovementoftrafc fow,reducedgasemissions,andwaitingtimeattrafclightsaferthedriversadjustedtheirvelocityto
thespeedcalculatedbythesystem.
1. Introduction
Cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems (C-ITS)
make the exchange of information possible through coop-
erative systems that broadcast trafc data to enhance road
safety.Lab-controlledplatformsprovidethetestbedcondi-
tionsrequiredtoperformrealisticexperimentswithmassive
amounts of valuable data. Tis allows for the evaluation of
a variety of protocols, as well as interaction with in-vehicle
systemsandservices[1].
According to research developed in the United States
by the National Highway Trafc System Administration
(NHTSA), drivers who did not respect red lights in an
intersectioncontrolledbyatrafclightcaused from1997until
2004anaverageof51%ofthefataltrafccrashes[2].
Te technology behind trafc light timing programs is
rapidly evolving. Te aim is to further develop adaptive
signal control technology (ASCT) in an efort to adapt
trafc light timing programs to the demands of real-time
trafc and thus reduce trafc congestion in urban areas.
However, these technologies have only been implemented
in a small number of road networks, and the majority of
urban areas still have pretimed control systems installed in
theirtrafcsystems.Teirpresettimeintervalsarethesame
everytimethesignalcycles,regardlessofchangesintrafc
volume [3]. Tis pretimed mode is ideally suited to closely
spaced intersections where trafc volumes and patterns are
consistent. It can be used to provide efcient coordination
withothertrafcsignals,sinceboththestartandendofgreen
light phases are predefned. On the other hand, pretimed
control tends to be inefcient at intersections where trafc
arrivalsarerandom.Tiscausesredundantandunnecessary
waiting times, signifcant trafc jams, and excessive delays
[4].
Some systems use diferent preset time intervals for
morningrushhour,eveningrushhour,andotherbusytimes
basedonhistoricaldata.Eveniftheinformationofthetrafc
lightsisstoredateachtrafcmanagementcenter,itisnotyet
Hindawi
Journal of Advanced Transportation
Volume 2018, Article ID 3785957, 11 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/3785957