Simulation of Road Traffic Monitoring by Satellite
European Space Agency (ESA)
1995/96
This project , supported by the European Space Agency (ESA), is concerned
with the monitoring of road traffic by satellite. The proposal is that a
small number of vehicles, 'tracer' vehicles, be fitted with GPS-based position
determination units that would be interrogated by satellite. This system
will measure vehicle speed and position directly in contrast to current
traffic monitoring systems which rely on extrapolations of vehicle flow
data retrieved from buried inductive loop sensors. In addition, it should
be possible to provide a range of supplementary services to make them attractive
consumer products and encourage the fitting of these systems to cars and
trucks. The satellite communication system between the mobile vehicles and
the hub uses the PRODAT protocol. The intention is to simulate such a system
and to understand the accuracy of the traffic information received, and
the problems to associated with accessing the vehicles via the satellite
link. Another result of the simulation will be a demonstration of the merits
of the system.
Personnel
This work was performed by:
[List of Projects in ERG]