Implementation of NTCIP in Road Traffic Controllers for Traffic Signal Coordination

Abstract

National Transportation Communication for Intelligent Transportation System Protocol (NTCIP) is a family of open standards, defining common communications protocols and data definitions for transmitting data and messages between computer systems used in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). The Intelligent Transportation Systems make use of Information Technology, Computers, Telecommunication and Electronics (ICTE) in the effort of improving safety and mobility of automobiles and road users. In this effort it is likely that the various devices and gadgets used in ITS communicate each other. As of now many ITS solutions use proprietary protocol for communication that restricts interoperability and interchangeability while sharing a common platform. NTCIP provides the benefits of device interoperability and interchangeability, bridging the gap. In ITS, the Adaptive Traffic Control System (ATCS) is widely accepted in the present day for road traffic control and realtime signal coordination. The ATCS receives traffic information from all traffic junctions in a road traffic network in a timely manner. This information is processed centrally by the ATCS and signal timings at the traffic junctions are updated in realtime for minimum stops and delays to improve the travel time. There are many vendors manufacturing ATCS and traffic controllers with their proprietary protocol. This leads to the lack of interoperability between the ATCS and the traffic controllers restricting the expandability and customer choice. This problem can be overcome by adopting the concept of NTCIP in the communication process. This paper discusses how the traffic controller is made NTCIP compliant by adding the SNMP Agent functionality into it and how the communication is carried out in the form of NTCIP standards in spite of its proprietary terminology.