Real-Time Traffic Flow Management Based on Visible Light Communication: A Case Study at Roundabout

Abstract

Roundabouts are sort of circular intersections founded to ensure vehicles safety on the roads. Nevertheless, they do not prevent accidents entirely, where conflicts may occur at existed intersections causing traffic congestion, or even, serious accidents. In this study, an intelligent transportation system (ITS) solution is proposed to safely coordinate autonomous vehicles crossing at roundabouts via the Visible Light Communication (VLC) technique, since recent studies have shown that the VLC technique can be effectively utilized in dynamic vehicular communications. The proposed system focuses on vehicle-to-infrastructure communications (V2I), where on-site VLC terminals are distributed at entrances of the roundabout to control the traffic flow in real time. Simulation results exhibit that prospective collision at roundabouts can be avoided effectively based on the proposed system.