School of Science and Technology 科技學院
Computing Programmes 電腦學系

Intelligent Traffic Light System for Hong Kong Traffic Network

Yui Chung FUNG, Chun Yung SO, Yuen Ho LAM

  
ProgrammeBachelor of Computing with Honours in Internet Technology
SupervisorProf. Vanessa NG
AreasIntelligent Applications
Year of Completion2019
Award16th IEEE(HK) Computational Intelligence Chapter FYP Competition First Runners-Up

Objectives

In Hong Kong, the increasing number of vehicles and population has caused high usage of roads, which has been a major concern. The aim of this project is to implement the Intelligent Traffic Light System (ITLS) with machine learning, which increases the efficiency of the road space usage.

The project has also defined a number of sub-objectives as follows:

  • Collect data of road usage.
  • Design and develop a system to detect the number of vehicles and pedestrians with computer vision.
  • Analyze data to find out the usage pattern.
  • Design and develop an algorithm for the intelligent traffic light control system.
  • Develop a 2D simulation model of intelligent traffic light control system based on the above.
  • Evaluate the new system against current traffic system.

Video Demonstration

Background and Methodology

TensorFlow

TensorFlow is a machine learning open source framework, which provides a variety of machine learning function to the system.

Pygame

Pygame is a free and open source python programming language library for making multimedia applications like games built on top of the excellent SDL library.

Record traffic condition videos

System Design and Implementation

Record traffic condition videos

Cameras will be set at vantage points in bridges. The resulting footage will then be used as the input of the object detection application.

Object detection application

The object detection application tells users the object type (vehicle or person) in the road and show the number of vehicles and pedestrians at the road intersection per hour.

Intelligent Traffic Light Traffic Model

This traffic model will simulate road result which implements ITLS, and also include the realistic feature of the fixed cycle traffic light traffic model.

Simulation

The pygame simulation will simulate the traffic models visually. It will use the data of traffic models to build a simulation that visualizes the concept of the system.

System Design and Implementation

Simulation result on normal traffic hours

Simulation result on peak traffic hours
 

The red part is the average pedestrian waiting time in seconds, and the blue part is the average car waiting time in seconds.

The above figures show that the average waiting time of ITLS was a lot lower than the fixed cycle traffic light system about 50% to 55%, showing that ITLS served well at normal and peak hours.

Jonathan Chiu
Marketing Director
3DP Technology Limited

Jonathan handles all external affairs include business development, patents write up and public relations. He is frequently interviewed by media and is considered a pioneer in 3D printing products.

Krutz Cheuk
Biomedical Engineer
Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital

After graduating from OUHK, Krutz obtained an M.Sc. in Engineering Management from CityU. He is now completing his second master degree, M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering, at CUHK. Krutz has a wide range of working experience. He has been with Siemens, VTech, and PCCW.

Hugo Leung
Software and Hardware Engineer
Innovation Team Company Limited

Hugo Leung Wai-yin, who graduated from his four-year programme in 2015, won the Best Paper Award for his ‘intelligent pill-dispenser’ design at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering’s International Conference on Consumer Electronics – China 2015.

The pill-dispenser alerts patients via sound and LED flashes to pre-set dosage and time intervals. Unlike units currently on the market, Hugo’s design connects to any mobile phone globally. In explaining how it works, he said: ‘There are three layers in the portable pillbox. The lowest level is a controller with various devices which can be connected to mobile phones in remote locations. Patients are alerted by a sound alarm and flashes. Should they fail to follow their prescribed regime, data can be sent via SMS to relatives and friends for follow up.’ The pill-dispenser has four medicine slots, plus a back-up with a LED alert, topped by a 500ml water bottle. It took Hugo three months of research and coding to complete his design, but he feels it was worth all his time and effort.

Hugo’s public examination results were disappointing and he was at a loss about his future before enrolling at the OUHK, which he now realizes was a major turning point in his life. He is grateful for the OUHK’s learning environment, its industry links and the positive guidance and encouragement from his teachers. The University is now exploring the commercial potential of his design with a pharmaceutical company. He hopes that this will benefit the elderly and chronically ill, as well as the society at large.

Soon after completing his studies, Hugo joined an automation technology company as an assistant engineer. He is responsible for the design and development of automation devices. The target is to minimize human labor and increase the quality of products. He is developing products which are used in various sections, including healthcare, manufacturing and consumer electronics.

Course Code Title Credits
  COMP S321F Advanced Database and Data Warehousing 5
  COMP S333F Advanced Programming and AI Algorithms 5
  COMP S351F Software Project Management 5
  COMP S362F Concurrent and Network Programming 5
  COMP S363F Distributed Systems and Parallel Computing 5
  COMP S382F Data Mining and Analytics 5
  COMP S390F Creative Programming for Games 5
  COMP S492F Machine Learning 5
  ELEC S305F Computer Networking 5
  ELEC S348F IOT Security 5
  ELEC S371F Digital Forensics 5
  ELEC S431F Blockchain Technologies 5
  ELEC S425F Computer and Network Security 5
 Course CodeTitleCredits
 ELEC S201FBasic Electronics5
 IT S290FHuman Computer Interaction & User Experience Design5
 STAT S251FStatistical Data Analysis5
 Course CodeTitleCredits
 COMPS333FAdvanced Programming and AI Algorithms5
 COMPS362FConcurrent and Network Programming5
 COMPS363FDistributed Systems and Parallel Computing5
 COMPS380FWeb Applications: Design and Development5
 COMPS381FServer-side Technologies and Cloud Computing5
 COMPS382FData Mining and Analytics5
 COMPS390FCreative Programming for Games5
 COMPS413FApplication Design and Development for Mobile Devices5
 COMPS492FMachine Learning5
 ELECS305FComputer Networking5
 ELECS363FAdvanced Computer Design5
 ELECS425FComputer and Network Security5