DEVELOPMENT OF A PROTOTYPE TRAFFIC DATA COLLECTION SYSTEM USING INFRARED BEAM SENSOR ARRAY

This research aimed to developing a portable multi-functional traffic data collection system which has the potential to be easily installed in fields and can measure two-way traffic at the same time. The proposed system uses several infrared beam sensors to form an infrared beam sensor array with uniform spacing between the sensors. This infrared beam sensor array will be able to detect traffic characteristics such as traffic flow rate, speed profile, wrong-way movement, traffic density, and occupancy. During the course of the research, a prototype was developed and tested in fields. The prototype has the basic functions of the proposed system for traffic data collection. The main objectives of the research were to develop the prototype and perform field experiments to assess the prototype. The prototype was designed and assembled in the first phase of the research. Field experiments were performed September 1997. The field experiments included tests of the prototype's capabilities to collect information on traffic flow rate, speed, speed profile, and wrong-way movements. Field experiment results indicated that the prototype was able to perform the designed functions and produce satisfactory summaries of traffic characteristics.