Tracking Bluetooth IDs To Measure Travel Time & Origin/Destination How does it work? What information does it give?

With California law requiring hands free cell phone use, we see less of this...

And more hands free cell phone use like this

These ‘hands free’ devices use Bluetooth communications Bluetooth operates in 2.4 GHz ISM radio band Each Bluetooth device has an unique 48 bit ‘MAC’ address There are 3 Bluetooth device classes based on emitted power Class 1 up to 100 mW, range up to 100 meters Class 2 up to 2.5 mW, range up to 22 meters Class 3 up to 1 mW, range up to 6 meters

These ‘hands free’ devices use Bluetooth communications Bluetooth operates in 2.4 GHz ISM radio band Each Bluetooth device has an unique 48 bit ‘MAC’ address There are 3 Bluetooth device classes based on emitted power Class 1 up to 100 mW, range up to 100 meters Class 2 up to 2.5 mW, range up to 22 meters Class 3 up to 1 mW, range up to 6 meters High gain antennas can extend the range at which these devices are ‘read’ when they are discoverable

The process starts with reading a Bluetooth ID at one site

And continues with reading the same ID at a 2 nd site

The time between the 2 reads is the travel time

Bluetooth IDs can be read from vehicles 300 feet away Including those on roadways which may not be of interest

Shielding can limit reception to the area of interest This roadway area will be ignored

How are Bluetooth IDs Read? Electronics in a weatherproof case at roadside sends out an inquiry to Bluetooth devices in the vicinity every few seconds....

Bluetooth devices nearby respond with their IDs which are recorded with date and time which are recorded with date and time GPS Date GPS Time Bluetooth ID (hex) Bluetooth ID (decimal) # of reads Dwell Time At Site Non-reversible encryption can be done by erasing 1 bit in each Bluetooth ID

Even on urban and suburban streets, many Bluetooth IDs will be read Over 11,000 IDs were read in 4 days on a small arterial

Data record when ID passed first BluFax Data record when ID passed second BluFax Travel time for this Bluetooth ID Bluetooth IDs + GPS time measure travel time directly The travel time is the difference in GPS times

Urban/Suburban street travel times look like this

Interrupted Trips Uninterrupted Trips The travel times are a mix of uninterrupted + interrupted trips Only uninterrupted trips characterize traffic system performance

Identifying the Uninterrupted Trips Is Easy The interrupted trips are all those travelers who stopped to shop, get gas, visit the bank extending their trip time arbitrarily. Interrupted Trips

Despite filtering, uninterrupted trip times still vary

What Can We Do With BluFax? Measure travel time along a corridor BluFax at beginning, end, and key entry/exit points Confirm benefits of signal coordination Measure origin and destination of travelers Requires BluFax at all boundary entry/exit points Measure delay on approaches to a signal BluFax on each approach ~200’ back from stop line Identify causes for congestion Identify influence of traffic management on travel demand

Some Examples of Actual Usage Temecula: confirm signal coordination benefits Murrieta: confirm signal coordination benefits Pleasanton: track cut-through traffic from freeways CCIT: measure travel times on urban streets PATH: measure travel times on freeways Omni-Means: origin/destination in downtown Napa Quality Traffic Data: corridor travel time in Walnut Creek Stantec: origin/destination on freeways for SANDAG DKS: origin/destination + travel time on freeways for RCTC

A Specific Example: Origin/Destination + Travel Time on the 91 Freeway Each pushpin symbol was a BluFax unit A total of 13 BluFax units were deployed

Typical Site Mounted BluFax on an Existing Pole A B BluFax at site A read 60% of IDs read by a BluFax at site B Both directions on most freeways can be monitored with 1 unit

A simplified diagram of measurements For just one movement of traffic

Here are some of the results found for one 3 hour time period

Here is the 6AM Caltrans Traffic Map from IE511 Traffic from 71 Southbound enters the 91 Westbound and congestion spills back Eastward

BluFax – the tool used for data collection A portable unit in a weatherproof case Internal GPS for location + precise time Internal GSM modem for data communications Can send with data collected each day Can operate as a real time unit also Battery provides up to 2 weeks of operation 2 GB memory stores all data collected BluFax can be purchased or rented BluStats PC software included (batch software) Processes data into charts Exports data to EXCEL Very is easy to use Windows 7 or XP compatible

Real Time Usage This is the next step after using BluFax as a “study tool” Firmware allows any BluFax to do real time monitoring Server is required to receive and process the data BluFaxWeb is available as a rental service on Traffax’ server BluFaxWeb software is available as licensed software on user’s server Either way, results are delivered as an XML feed Requires a communication network to all BluFax sites Data security is a solvable challenge BluFax can encrypt Bluetooth MAC IDs as they are read The encryption used is non-reversible (and simple) Traffax has real time systems in place in US & Australia

Solar Power Supports A Real Time Site in Maryland

Where are we going? Fostering acceptance of new technology Engineers learn it in school and carry concept into employment Researchers use it and develop applications practices Practicing engineers learn about it in projects We have moved beyond the technology Implement user applications Provide accurate travel time information Measure origin/destination movements Measure movements along a corridor Focus on user needs (financial and technical) Rent equipment allow low cost evaluations and study projects Rent server/software to facilitate transition to real time It takes 10+ years for new technology to be widely accepted

BluFax makes travel time and traveler origin/destination directly observable On Freeways... as well as Arterial Streets Making it easy to show stakeholders the value of improvements

Further information is available at Traffax, Inc. is the manufacturer of BluFax Or, feel free to contact:Mike Juha Tel: Cell: