Title: Semi-Automatic Traffic Light [S.A.T.L] control system [there is no term called "S.A.T.L" - i am just using it to make the title short 
]
By: Sunnyiut
Project Category:RoadTest
Project Name: TI and Würth Elektronik LED RoadTest+
Blog post: 01
Content:
- Unboxing
- Introduction
- Project Description
Unboxing:
This is my first blog regarding LEDRoadTest+, organized by ELEMENT14 along with TI and Würth Elektronik .
I would like to express my gratitude to the organizers for bringing up this opportunity to play with these amazing 'kits'.
Kit receiving date: 13th November 2015
Kit contains:
TPS92512EVM-001TPS92512EVM-001
CC2540TDK-LIGHTCC2540TDK-LIGHT
MSP-EXP 430FR4133
Würth Elektronik sunglass 
ELEMENT 14 water bottle 
TPS92512: TPS92512EVM-001TPS92512EVM-001 [TPS92512 Buck Regulator with Analog and PWM Dimming - TPS92512EVM-001 - TI Tool Folder]
TPS92512 is a 2.5A buck regulator for driving LED stack.
Input range: 42v and 60v version. The on-board chip says 512H, so I think I've got the high voltage version.
However, the board says a little bit different ratings.
Vin: 12v to 48v
Vout: 5v to 25v
Iout: 1.5A max
and there are caution marks for ESD and HOT surface
CC2540TDK-LIGHTCC2540TDK-LIGHT: Bluetooth Low Energy light development kit [Bluetooth Low Energy Light Development Kit - CC2540TDK-LIGHT - TI Tool Folder]
8051 MCU based BLE solution - CC2540T
4 LEDs [red, green, blue, white] can produce different colors upon the combination with variable intensity
kit contains -
- (3) BLE LED boards
- (3) micro-USB cables
- (3) diffusers
3 BLE LED boards snd diffusers Front view Back view Diffuser mounted on the board
once powered up using the USB cable, all the LEDs turned on with high intensity, and it was hard to directly look at the board. I used a tracing paper to diffuse the light.
without diffuser diffuser mounted on the board using tracing paper for more diffusion
Useful Links -
debugging and programming hardware [Debugger and Programmer for RF System-on-Chips - CC-DEBUGGER - TI Software Folder]
programming software [SmartRF Flash Programmer - FLASH-PROGRAMMER - TI Software Folder]
BLE stack [Bluetooth Low Energy Software Stack - BLE-STACK - TI Software Folder]
development software [SmartRF Studio - SMARTRFTM-STUDIO - TI Software Folder] [https://www.iar.com/iar-embedded-workbench/8051/]
MSP-EXP430FR4133MSP-EXP430FR4133: MSP430 MCU development kit [MSP430FR4133 LaunchPad Development Kit - MSP-EXP430FR4133 - TI Tool Folder]
MSP430FR4133 - 16 bit RISC 16 MHz MCU
Segmented LCD
couple of button switches and LEDs
on-chip temperature sensor
16bit timer
IDE: CCS
Front view Back view welcome display at power up
Pre-loaded firmware supports 'stopwatch' mode and 'temperature' mode which can be selected by pressing sw1 and sw2.
LEDs turn on while pressing sw1 and sw2 to change mode Stopwatch Temperature
So, that's all about unboxing. I am presenting an introduction to my project plan bellow.
Introduction:
We are familiar with Automatic Control of Traffic Signal Lights where the sequence of switching used to be set based on traffic load study. But in some cases for a highly populated area it's hard to figure out an efficient pattern of traffic load, hence a manual control system is necessary. Therefore, traffic signal lights are connected in a network where the sequence can be reprogrammed from a remote monitoring center manually. But these sort of facilities are expensive and in some cases cannot be implemented due to lack of infrastructure specifically in low resource countries.
In this project plan, I am suggesting a control system which can be locally controlled by the on duty traffic police officer and also can be set to an automatic mode with a programmable sequence.
Project Description:
The on duty traffic police officer will possess a portable device which will send the sequence of switching along with time duration to a central traffic light post [through IR/BLE]. The central light post [central system] will be connected to other light post of the road junction through bluetooth. The sequence can be changed manually based on the current traffic load. On the other hand an automatic sequence can be programmed too when the traffic load is low. The change of sequence will be logged and saved into a micro SD card for further record and future load study to workout an automatic system algorithm.
Use of the Roadtest kits:
- TPS92512 LED driver - will be used to power up the Ultra Bright LEDs of the traffic signal light assembly
- CC2540TDK-LIGHTCC2540TDK-LIGHT kit - will be used to demonstrate the bluetooth communication between the traffic signal lights [for prototyping purpose].
- MSP-EXP430FR4133MSP-EXP430FR4133 -
1. Controlling the portable device for programmable switching sequence
2. Communication with the Central System trough InfraRed or Bluetooth Low Energy
3. On board LCD to guide the traffic police officer
4. 16-bit timer to track down the time delay
5. Communication with a MicroSD card to log the change of switching sequence with time for future study of an automated control system
Extra Features:
1. The portable device will consist a wireless charging system, which will take power from the Central System [central light post].
2. In case of an communication error or any other technical problem, the lights will be set to RED [STOP] sign.
3. Encoded data communication to avoid unwanted intrusion in the control system.
Purpose of the project:
The main goal of the this project is to find out a cost effective solution of traffic signal light controlling system, which can be controlled manually by the traffic police if necessary [specifically for low resource countries, where fully automated system may not possible].
To explain the reason behind this idea, I need to focus on the current scenario of my place - Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
Dense population, huge traffic load and poor Urban Planning makes it really hard to get a clean pattern of traffic load. The present control system is based on fixed timing control which is not flexible. It cannot be updated instantaneously based on the traffic load. So, it's not efficient because some cases traffics need to wait unnecessarily.
Our government has tried to introduce automated system in some areas, but it didn't work out in every cases.
Specially, the VIP roads get stuck with immobile traffic jam, which forces the traffic police to ignore the signal lights and control manually using hand signs. They found it more efficient. But, that does not act properly all the time and the image below represents a common scenario -
It's a CHAOS. The small circles point out the position of traffic police officers.... and yes I have found 6 of them. They had to control manually to keep the VIP roads out of jam. The automatic timing of the signal lights cannot help anymore, when there is huge load.
But due to the presence of more than one traffic police, it becomes confusing to follow the hand signs.
Also, there is a vacant lane and the efficient way would be open up more traffics in that direction. But it's hard to break the present sequence manually because that may create more confusion. Some will follow the change and some will continue with the present sequence - means it will increase the chaos. Now, what if the traffic lights can be controlled instantaneously by the traffic police officer - there will be four positive outcomes:
- Efficient solution: no one has to follow the hand signs and that will minimize the chance of confusion. That will help to reduce the jam efficiently.
- Low cost: for low resource countries, as no expensive infrastructure is needed [like for networked automated traffic control system]
- Study of Traffic load pattern: logging the timing sequence will help future study for developing a fully automated control system
- Back on the right track: the most important thing is that people are now habituated with the manual control following the hand signs now-a-days. Now, if the signal lights can be controlled manually than people will again get used to with this concept and that will ease the process of moving into a fully automated system.
Primary goal:
I don't know whether this idea will work in real life or not, but there's nothing wrong to try and it's always fun to play with electronics . So, this one will be an interesting roadtest for me.
However, it will take time to get a complete output of this project. Therefore, in the short timeline of this roadtest, my target will be building a prototype which will be good enough to demonstrate the concept.
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