Bluetooth technology helps capture real-time, accurate travel time along arterials

Drivers on Hennepin County Route 81 near Minneapolis help Mn/DOT measure arterial traffic performance via Bluetooth technology

Date Posted
12/08/2015
Identifier
2015-B01009
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2010 ITS Annual Report

Summary Information

The Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Section of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) Office of Traffic, Safety and Technology (OTST) performs research, demonstrations, and operational tests of ITS transportation solutions. The annual report of the Mn/DOT OTST ITS Section’s funded activities for the 2010 fiscal year describe the results of deployed and ongoing ITS projects.

The Bluetooth-based travel time measurement network is on Hennepin County Route 81, with Bluetooth and GPS receivers and communications hardware installed at six signalized intersections. The system estimates travel time along an arterial by reading the MAC addresses of Bluetooth enabled devices in vehicles passing a point on the roadway and matching them with addresses read at six points on the roadway.

Benefits

Two primary benefits are identified with this technology:
  • Demonstrating the use of Bluetooth technology for obtaining cost-effective real-time and accurate travel time along arterials.
  • Demonstrating how travel time may be used to measure performance of arterial traffic management and operations.
Goal Areas
Deployment Locations