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Intelligent Speed Adaptation Information Technology Essay

In case of public transportation, this system could help in determining travel times ,delays , transits , connections , incidents and alternative routes etc while if driving this could benefit to check weather conditions , speed limits , congestion , alternative routes , notification of incidents or accidents , road sign information etc .

Additionally real time communication between vehicles , anti collision and reduced pollution also are expected benefits .Some features of intelligent transportation are already in use like navigation system and traffic updates on car radios but these are not enough to assist our lives in means of transportation.

.The objective of intelligent transportation system is to discuss major problems of safety and congestion. Increasing safety has always been a priority over anything else and the death rate in road accidents is unfortunately unsatisfactory while reduction in congestion will not only minimize fuel consumption but will also have a positive impact on our environment , less emission carbon dioxide which is a big reason for pollution. Road safety and congestion are related , severe road accidents can definitely lead to congestion and traffic jams.

Cooperative system knows and share information about the entire traffic including incidents throughout the route, navigational system is going to be revolutionised giving detailed journey information compared to today's time. Traffic within the congestion zone will be managed by traffic management system, providing best route and at the same time diverting traffic to alternative routes in case congestion is expected, even by advising a particular speed can avoid stopping on red light, maintaining a continuous flow will save fuel as well as reduce traffic jams.

The goal of cooperative system is to have two way communication between (vehicles-vehicle) and (vehicle-roadside), inorder to achieve this kind of two way communication a roadside infrastructure has to be built and vehicles should be equipped with wireless units , antennas and routers so that communication should be easy between vehicles and roadside to support various applications and services.

Currently wireless communication between vehicles and roadside exists which is one way communication that means only vehicles can communicate with roadside not the other way around. For example bus can communicate with traffic signal to get priority for bus lane over general traffic lane , since this is one way communication therefore approval or denial of such request is not acknowledged.

Cooperative vehicle infrastructure system is a European research and development project that started in feburary 2006 with large budget sanctioned to revolutionize means of transportation with 60 partners working together which includes government authorites , software developers , vehicle manfucturing companies , transport authorities , researchers , testing users etc

Four examples of applications in the project include:

•prioritizing particular vehicles (like emergency vehicles , law enforcing authorities or public transportation)to get easy access at intersections or traffic signals.

• reducing accidents, immediate reporting to emergency services and flooding this information among vehicles heading towards accident site.

•notifying vehicle driver time to time regarding traffic ,speed limits , rules and regulations of particular area , road and weather conditions etc.

• establishing a proper traffic management system for routing of vehicles in case of congestion especially in peak hours or events.

Controlling overall impact on environment due pollution majorly cause by carbon dioxide emissions.

Technologies for ITS

The technologies needed for intelligent transportation are already in use aiding several applications.

Satellite location: using global positioning system (GPS), a receiver takes signals from several satellites to find the exact location. For this purpose receivers have to be in line-of-sight with satellites. Currently satellite location is used in navigation systems apart from that it is also assisting different applications and services in various fields.

Mobile telephony: Mobile telephony refers to those devices which can move freely rather than sticking to one location , the biggest advantage is its availability worldwide and is appropriate for exchange of basic information . Since some delays may occur in communication using mobile telephony therefore it is not considered suitable for satefy applications which may require immediate action.


Wireless networks: wireless networks are best suited for safetly application. With these kind of networks rapid communication is carried out between vehicles and roadside. The only concern is its range which is limited to few hundred meters however its range can be extended if vehicles pass on the information to one another.

Coming up technologies

Intelligent transportation system can introduce new technologies with major improvements which will revolutionize transportation without a doubt but due to a debate on its cost delays can occur.

Expected new technologies which are meant to support transportation system are briefly discussed below


In this technology vehicles will be equipped with mobile devices and GPS. Any accident occurred will be immediately reported to the emergency services determining exact location of incident. This will help in immediate action hence increasing survival chances.

Intelligent Speed Adaptation

High speed plays vital role in accidents. In order to decrease fatalities and accidents speed has to be controlled. Intelligent speed adaptation deals with speed limits and warning is given to the driver if the speed limit is crossed, also speed is reduced automatically. An experiment on intelligent speed adaption turned out to be successful and can reduce accidents upto 40 percent.

Digital Speed Limit Map

Digital speed limit map is a pre requisite for Intelligent speed adaptation and therefore cannot be implemented unless desired speed limits are known . GPS finds out the exact location of vehicle and speed limits for that particular location are compared using digital speed limit map.

Driver Assistance and Warning

Driver assistance and warning technologies have started appearing in various modern vehicles but again due its cost it can only be purchased by elite class , these vehicles are fitted with advanced technology that not only warns driver but also if necessary takesover control from the driver, some common situations in which this technology can be used are mentioned below.

Lane Warning, when a car is moving away from its lane.

Maintaing a specific distance between successive vehicles preventing any hazard in case emergency brakes are applied.

Blind-spot Warning.

Automatic stabilizing vehicle to prevent skidding due to high speed or in severe weather conditions e.g snow , rain

Cooperative Safety Systems

The wireless technology can be used for safety of vehicles by exchanging safety information this can be about any accident in planned route , this kind of communication can be either between vehicles or between roadside and vehicle , A massive infrastructure has to be designed in order to equip vehicles and roadsides with wireless technology , this seems amazing and feasible but at the same time this technology is held back due to cost and range issues .


Intelligent transportation seems ideal but there are certain issues that might appear after deployment of above mention advance technologies, issues like several warnings and information may confuse or divert driver's attention from road especially in case where automatic system cannot handle the problem , also drivers could be left with very little work to do and may lead to stress or absence of mind. Additionally special training should be given to the drivers in order to familiarize them with system equipped inside vehicles making life a bit more complicated. continuous up gradation will be required to upgrade outdated technology that might have cost involved in it.

Intelligent transportation is obviously different from tradition transportation system with minimal experiences therefore their costs and risks are still unpredictable.


Increase in vehicles day by day tends to increase congestion on roads. Currently congestion is around 80 percent higher than what it was in year 1980 and expected to rise by 30 percent till year 2025. Congestion as a whole leads to so many different issues, slow moving or stationary vehicles in traffic jam effect fuel consumption and release a large amount of carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere hence polluting environment, according to the figures 93 percent of carbon dioxide emission is due to road transport.

Traffic management

Utilization of road capacity in a better way is the aim of traffic management keeping in mind road users , functions and type of road .the term traffic management means increasing the movement of vehicle ensuring less congestion especially in urban areas. Traffic control assessment is an application that can be used to achieve reduction in congestion, this application acquire data from roadside infrastructure (cameras) and provides vehicle with current information.

Strategic Routing

Strategic routing is defined as efficient organisation of traffic in case of severe congestion ( road works , public events), strategic routing application (SRA) have advanced routing features that provides alternative routing suggestions on the basis of network strategy and real time information, currently network management strategies are not considered and routes are calculated on the basis of static map, traffic management centre , road sections which could create a situation where personalise navigation system suggests route totally different from road signs while with the help of strategic routing severe congestion can be avoided with everything centralised and organised.

For this application to work effectively certain requirements have to be fulfilled which includes establishment of proper traffic management centre for developing and providing vehicles with strategic routing. Roadside units (RSU) for communicating information between vehicles and traffic management centre. Strategic editor (software) for creating routing strategies.

The number of RSUs to be installed depends on area , if an area where routing decisions made are less only requires RSUs at major points while an area where many routing decisions are to be made require RSU at regular intervals for up-to-date communication between vehicles.

The Micro-Routing

As the name suggests micro-routing only give information for short span of time normally from 1 to 5 minutes, they basic functionality of this application would be to advice drivers regarding local congestion, events, weather conditions and pollution level ensuring effective use of roads with nominal impact on environment. This application will especially benefit cities with less stops at traffic signals, reduce noise levels and emissions.Roadside units(RSUs) need to be installed at all intersections and major points within the city to support micro routing.

Prioritizing Vehicles

Vehicles like emergency vehicles, public transport, heavy duty vehicles and vehicles carrying dangerous goods should be given priority to ensure safe and systematic intersection crossings. In many cities giving priority to public transport is very common but it varies according to the traffic situation or schedule, for example if a bus is ahead of it scheduled time them the priority request is not accepted. Emergency vehicles are always given priority but it is always risky for other side of the traffic and pedestrians .Even several accidents by emergency vehicles are reported, with the help priority application red signal will be issued to both pedestrians and other side of the traffic enabling high safety , also real time and strategic route information will provide emergency vehicles with several route choices rather than only one route which will minimize emergency vehicles journey time. Heavy duty vehicles including vehicles carrying dangerous goods goes with a slow and steady speed therefore immediate brakes at traffic signal sometimes does not work which results in violating traffic laws and regulation or in worst case cause accidents, giving priority to heavy vehicles will result in an efficient and safe road traffic moreover will reduce emissions caused by continuous stopping. This initiative of giving priority has already seen benefits in public transport vehicles but at lower level.

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