CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Most roads in Nigeria urban areas are usually congested, some all-day, others during rush hours. It was found that larger part of this problem is that due to congestion at road intersections. However, traffic light systems have long been invented to control this problem. Most of these traffic light control systems are imported thereby making them expensive. Traditional traffic light control systems are designed to function at only a particular type of traffic intersection. For example, a control system that was designed for a cross-junction may not serve at T-junction.

This project work deals with a microcontroller-based traffic light control system that has the ability to control any type of y- and cross-traffic intersections. It is indigenous as well as versatile in its control functions as regards y- and cross-junctions. This has the effect of drastically reducing the design cost.

1.2 Aim and Objectives

This project aims at developing an 8051 microcontroller-based versatile y- and cross- traffic light control system which can be deployed at road

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intersections for traffic control. It can be used as a teaching aid in schools for various road users. The purpose of this project work is to develop a versatile system that can control any type of cross- and y-traffic junctions to assist and to educate the general public on automobile-automobile and automobile-pedestal interactions at road intersections.

1.3 Justification

Since this work is indigenous, it can serve to replace the imported ones. It can also reduce the cost of design and implementation since addition of few instruction lines to the control program will make the control system function at any type of road intersection. The software program for this system can be modified to incorporate more functionality. This system/trainer also serves as a learning aid.

1.4 Scope of the Work

This versatile traffic light control system is intended to control a wide range of y- and cross- road intersections. In this work, we limit ourselves to the control of the following types of traffic junctions:

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Automobile-automobile cross-junction Automobile pedestrian cross-junction

Automobile-automobile Y-junction using LEDs

Automobile-automobile Y-junction using lamps via dc relays

This project work is flexible in that the control program can be modified to incorporate other types of traffic junction control.

1.5 Block Diagram Overview

INPUT

CONTROL

OUTPUT

SUBSYSTEM

SUBSYSTEM

SUBSYSTEM

CONTROL

ALGORITHM

(IN MEMORY)

Fig. 1: Block Diagram Overview

As indicated in Fig. 1 above, the input subsystem comprises a switch panel that passes input signals to the control system which in turn invokes control algorithm from the system’s memory for its control operations. The input signal is used to configure the system to behave as a particular type of traffic junction controller. The user can select one out of

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