Date of Award

2008

Degree Type

Thesis

Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering

First Advisor

Sridhar, Nigamanth

Subject Headings

Detectors, Sensor networks, Traffic engineering, Traffic safety, Sensor network applications, Tracking, Transportation engineering, Spatial multiplexing

Abstract

Safety hazards encountered near construction work zones are high, both in number and in the kind. There is a need to monitor traffic in such construction zones in order to improve driver and vehicle safetyIn the past traffic monitoring systems were built with high cost equipment such as inductive plates, video cameras etc. These solutions are too cost{prohibitive and invasive to be used in the large. Wireless sensor networks provide an opportunity space that can be used to address this problem. This thesis specifically targets temporary or short-term construction work zones. We present the design and implementation of a sensor network system targeted at monitoring the flow of traffic through these temporary construction work zones. As opposed to long-term work zones which are common on highways, short-term or temporary work zones remain active for a few hours or a few days at most. As such, instrumenting temporary work zones with monitoring equipment similar to those used in long-term work zones is not practical. Yet, these temporary work zones present an important problem in terms of crashes occurring in and around them. The design for this sensornet-based system for monitoring traffic is (a) inexpensive, (b) rapidly deployable, (c) requires minimal maintenance and (d) non-invasive. In this thesis we present our experiences in building this system, and testing this system in live work zones in the Greater Cleveland area

Download
COinS