Development of the necessary software and communication pathway for a cost-effective highway traffic speed detection system

Gathering data on average highway speed is very important to the field of transportation research. Currently, the most common method of gathering this data is through the use of loop detectors, which essentially consist of metal detectors placed under the roadway. While useful for gathering a wide variety of traffic information, these detectors are expensive and complicated to install. In this project, an alternative design has been produced, consisting of a bidirectional police radar unit, a communication path, and a computer to store and aggregate the data produced by the radar. The computer uses software that was developed in C for a Linux platform as part of this project. In addition, a webpage was produced on the server that allows visitors to view the data observed by the radar unit in real time, as well as download historical data stored on the server.