Concept Design for a RFID-Based Vehicle to Student Pedestrian Communication System at School Zones
(Room Palms Ballroom - Booth 100)
16 Jul 19
5:30 PM
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7:00 PM
Increasing focus on the costs of traffic incidents and efficiency have contributed to greater attention on automation in transportation. Revolutions in sensors technology have contributed to the growth of the self-driving vehicle industry. Similarly, a focus on security in schools and colleges has given rise to the usage of student radio-frequency identification (RFID) cards. The purpose of the study is to utilize the presence of student RFID cards to increase driver awareness of pedestrians. The RFID-based system implemented will, upon RFID card detection, activate alerts in connected and automated vehicles. In this project, a concept design of a RFID-based vehicle to student pedestrian (V2SP) communication system was developed. For a basic RFID-based V2SP system, a roadside reader wirelessly locates and communicates with multiple nearby tags in students’ ID cards through low-frequency radio waves. When a tag is within the reader’s range, waves from the reader hit the tag and scatter back at a different frequency, carrying any data held in the tag. The captured data is then processed. This study recommends that long-range readers with a typical reach of five to eight meters be implemented for optimal effect. Each reader will be placed at intervals of 10-15 meters along the road and at intersections for maximum coverage in applicable areas such as school zones. The readers will transmit information on the location and number of pedestrians to nearby vehicles and traffic control devices, which can trigger alerts to appear on the driver’s dashboards and also activate flashing beacons on the traffic signs. Some benefits of this system are: (1) it can improve student pedestrians safety through increasing driver awareness at school zones; (2) through improving driver awareness, driver compliance rates to school zone speed limits will be improved; and (3) it has a long lifespan and is waterproof, anti-magnetic, and low cost.