Autonomous Distributed Control of Traffic Signals with Cycle Length Control

A new method is proposed for controlling a large number of traffic signals, which are represented by nonlinear oscillators, each governed by a reaction-diffusion equation at a node of a graph. The behavior of each signal is determined only by the states of its neighbors, with the system as a whole being also organized globally. In this report, cycle lengths of the signals are controlled according to the traffic condition. Along with the control of offsets and splits, which are also explained here, the system can achieve high performance in dynamic traffic conditions. The simulation results are exemplified to show the validity of the method.