Wireless sensor networks in intelligent transportation systems

Abstract Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) offer the potential to significantly improve the efficiency of existing transportation systems. Currently, collecting traffic data for traffic planning and management is achieved mostly through wired sensors. The equipment and maintenance cost and time‐consuming installations of existing sensing systems prevent large‐scale deployment of real‐time traffic monitoring and control. Small wireless sensors with integrated sensing, computing, and wireless communication capabilities offer tremendous advantages in low cost and easy installation. In this paper, we first survey existing WSN technologies for intelligent transportation systems (ITSs), including sensor technologies, energy‐efficient networking protocols, and applications of sensor networks for parking lot monitoring, traffic monitoring, and traffic control. Then, we present new methods on applying WSNs in traffic modeling and estimation and traffic control, and show their improved performance over existing solutions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.