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What are Intelligent Highways?
Intelligent highways are the new highway traffic analysis and response technology that will be implemented in major cities in the near future in order to decrease traffic congestions and accidents. Major highways in the US as well as other developed countries are being used by more or less 350,000 vehicles everyday. The traffic or congestion that results from such volume accounts for almost 78 billion dollars of wasted money every year because of lost man-hours and fuel waste. Consequently, billions of dollars have been spent trying to alleviate and eliminate this problem.
Current Traffic Monitoring, Analysis and Response Technologies
Current traffic and response technologies include electronic display signs, video cameras and loop detectors. Loop detectors are wires implanted on the road that serve as electrical voltage sensors. These sensors can determine if a car passes by through the changes in electrical voltage caused by the metallic body of passing cars. Moreover, by analyzing the information regarding how much time elapsed between passing two sets of wires and the number of alerts it generates, a central computer can determine the speed and volume of cars in a certain highway.
If the central computers notice a slowdown in traffic, video cameras can be utilized to check the cause of the traffic and this data can subsequently be displayed in electronic signs or boards to warn vehicles nearby and advise them of alternate routes. This type of traffic monitoring is, however, expensive and not sustainable in the long run.
Cheaper Alternatives to Traffic Monitoring and Response
Intelligent highways or the future or traffic monitoring, analysis and response systems would therefore rely on some of the most common devices available in developed countries - digital phones and PDAs. By using these devices which emit radio signals and in turn reveal the locations of their owners, future traffic management systems will be able to collect and disseminate traffic information more easily and quickly.
By using listening posts paired with cell phone base stations, traffic management personnel will be able to triangulate each and every vehicle having passengers with these digital phones or PDAs. Moreover, by time stamping the radio signals, listening posts can then determine the speed, direction and location of each and every digital phone/PDA-bearing commuter on a particular highway. In the event of an accident or congestion, the central traffic monitoring station can send personalized traffic updates along with GPS-produced maps advising commuters of alternate routes and traffic information to the affected commuters' phones.
RF Tagging
RF tagging, on the other hand, uses Radio Frequency tags and prepaid toll accounts. Electronic tag readers are also used in place of toll gates. In this case, cars can pass toll gates without slowing down. The RF tags on cars would automatically communicate with the electronic card readers which would in turn adjust the account information on the prepaid account. The electronic toll booths could also serve as traffic monitoring systems by timing the travel time of the car from one electronic toll booth to the next.
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