Intersection traffic energy management system (ITEMS): formulation and validation

Urban transportation and traffic face significant challenges as cities continue to grow. Traffic intersections present unique challenges for city planners. Several studies have proposed diverse approaches to managing intersection traffic. However, these typically fail to reduce both energy and trip time for all vehicles involved. This paper proposes the intersection traffic energy management system (ITEMS). By using speed regulation of two vehicles approaching an intersection on crossroads, ITEMS is able to resolve intersection conflicts. This obviates the need for either vehicle to stop. Two-vehicle and four-vehicle scenarios were simulated. It was found that ITEMS reduced the total energy about 22% and the trip time across the intersection by almost 16% for every scenario compared to a traditional fixed-timed traffic light intersection. ITEMS was also found to be superior than always giving a green light to urban transit vehicles. Furthermore, with ITEMS, the energy and trip time of each vehicle in the scenario was reduced when compared to other strategies.