Pedestrian Traffic Light Control with Crosswalk FMCW Radar and Group Tracking Algorithm

Abstract

The increased mobility requirements of modern lifestyles put more stress on existing traffic infrastructure, which causes reduced traffic flow, especially in peak traffic hours. This calls for new and advanced solutions in traffic flow regulation and management. One approach towards optimisation is a transition from static to dynamic traffic light intervals, especially in spots where pedestrian crossing cause stops in road traffic flow. In this paper, we propose a smart pedestrian traffic light triggering mechanism that uses a Frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar for pedestrian detection. Compared to, for example, camera-surveillance systems, radars have advantages in the ability to reliably detect pedestrians in low-visibility conditions and in maintaining privacy. Objects within a radar’s detection range are represented in a point cloud structure, in which pedestrians form clusters where they lose all identifiable features. Pedestrian detection and tracking are completed with a group tracking (GTRACK) algorithm that we modified to run on an external processor and not integrated into the used FMCW radar itself. The proposed prototype has been tested in multiple scenarios, where we focused on removing the call button from a conventional pedestrian traffic light. The prototype responded correctly in practically all cases by triggering the change in traffic signalization only when pedestrians were standing in the pavement area directly in front of the zebra crossing.

Experimental Evaluation of a MIMO Radar Performance for ADAS Application

“…In each scenario, the targets that carry a certain speed (radial with respect to the radar) have been analyzed separately to improve target separation and minimize background noise. That is, the speed estimation, obtained thanks to the Doppler shift of the signals, is carried out with the sole purpose of selecting particular targets, pedestrians [19,20] or motorcycles in our case. This way of proceeding is the natural one after performing a two-dimensional FFT of the received signals.…”

Cyber-Physical System for Smart Traffic Light Control

“…Artega et al [33] proposed a fuzzy logic method to control traffic lights based on the flow rate of vehicles. Nimac et al [34] presented pedestrian detection and a traffic light control scheme using radars, but this technique is focused on the traffic light trigger mechanism and is not optimizing the pedestrian traffic lights.…”