Title: Organic traffic light control for urban road networks

Authors: Holger Prothmann, Jurgen Branke, Hartmut Schmeck, Sven Tomforde, Fabian Rochner, Jorg Hahner, Christian Muller-Schloer

Addresses: Institute AIFB, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Universitat Karlsruhe (TH), 76128 Karlsruhe, Germany. ' Institute AIFB, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Universitat Karlsruhe (TH), 76128 Karlsruhe, Germany. ' Institute AIFB, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Universitat Karlsruhe (TH), 76128 Karlsruhe, Germany. ' Institute of Systems Engineering, Leibniz Universitat Hannover, Appelstr. 4, 30167 Hannover, Germany. ' Institute of Systems Engineering, Leibniz Universitat Hannover, Appelstr. 4, 30167 Hannover, Germany.' Institute of Systems Engineering, Leibniz Universitat Hannover, Appelstr. 4, 30167 Hannover, Germany.' Institute of Systems Engineering, Leibniz Universitat Hannover, Appelstr. 4, 30167 Hannover, Germany

Abstract: In recent years, autonomic and organic computing have become areas of active research in the informatics community. Both initiatives aim at handling the growing complexity in technical systems by focusing on adaptation and self-optimisation capabilities. A promising application for organic concepts is the control of road traffic signals in urban areas. This article presents an organic approach to traffic light control in urban areas that exhibits adaptation and learning capabilities, allowing traffic lights to autonomously react on changing traffic conditions. A coordination mechanism for neighbouring traffic lights is presented that relies solely on locally available traffic data and communication among neighbouring intersections, resulting in a distributed and self-organising traffic system for urban areas. The organic system|s efficiency is demonstrated in a simulation-based evaluation.

Keywords: adaptive traffic control; learning control; traffic light controllers; observer-controller architecture; organic computing; informatics; road traffic signals; urban areas; traffic lights; adaptation; simulation; self-optimisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAACS.2009.026783

International Journal of Autonomous and Adaptive Communications Systems, 2009 Vol.2 No.3, pp.203 - 225

Published online: 26 Jun 2009 *

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