Introduction

CONTENTS 1.1 Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.2 Literature Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1.3 Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1.1 Motivation Traffic congestion is a major problem in most big cities in the world. In the U.S. every year, there are about 40,000 to 50,000 fatalities on highway-related accidents. About a billion dollars worth of productivity is lost in traffic jams every year. With the advances in microelectronics technology, sensors and microprocessors have become available for very low cost. Intelligent Transportation Systems (I.T.S.) is an area that deals with using technology to help solve the traffic problem using sensors, actuators, and other electronics technology. By controlling the flow of traffic, it is hoped that many accidents can be prevented and also smooth flow can help avoid congestions.