BlueTIME - Bluetooth-based Travel Information Monitoring and Evaluation System

BlueTIME (Bluetooth-Based Travel Information Monitoring and Evaluation System) is a low cost, integrated system for roadway travel time detection, traffic state monitoring, and performance evaluation.  BlueTIME detects anonymous MAC addresses from all Bluetooth devices within range (e.g., phones, vehicular Bluetooth systems, headsets, and music players). The system provides online information to traffic engineers, researchers, and the public for their respective needs.

Background:
BlueTIME provides both real-time and historical traffic information. Users can access a specific website to monitor the processed real-time travel information. This real-time travel information is easily customized to evaluate traffic performance measures based on specific roadways and time intervals selected by the given user. The results can be aggregated into various time periods (e.g., 15 min). The BlueTIME system also reports historical patterns and statistics for the measures of interest. Furthermore, this historical traffic data is available for researchers and engineers to download, providing them with the ease of access to the data they may need for further investigation.

Applications:
BlueTIME provides important traffic information that has the potential for application in the following areas:

• Highway safety
• Research
• Intelligent transportation
• Emergency transportation
• Infrastructure
• Energy consumption evaluation
• Fleet management
• Traffic management
• Environment
• Governmental transportation watch
• Law enforcement and security

 
Advantages:

• Cost effective, sustainable, and extensible system
• The cost is approximately one-fifth to one-tenth of the price of current commercial products on the market
• Field installation takes approximately 20 minutes
• Favorable amount of endurance with the average lifespan being six months
• Only minor maintenance is necessary over the course of the product's lifetime
• The sensors can easily be recycled, either by light maintenance or re-assembly of parts (replacement) 
• Expandable system and can easily be integrated into other systems due to its Python-based programming
• The system allows for adjustable parameter tuning and validation