Mechanical Condition Determination of Vehicle and Traffic Density Estimation Using Acoustic Signals

Vehicles may be classified by a number of different criteria and objectives. However, comprehensive classification is elusive, because a vehicle may fit into multiple categories, there are numerous ways of categorizing vehicles. Numerous jurisdictions establish vehicle classification according to the vehicles construction, engine, weight, type of fuel and emissions, as well as the purpose for which they are used. Vehicular acoustic signal have long been considered as unwanted traffic noise. However Vehicles of different types generate dissimilar sound patterns even in similar working conditions. Sound patterns generated by moving vehicles vary depending on their types and hint information necessary to classify the vehicles. Various sound sources include engine, rotating parts and exhaust system. Other factors influencing variation of sound are condition of the vehicle, environmental conditions, road conditions, maintenance of the vehicle and so on. Different types of noise coming from different vehicles mix in the environment and identifying a particular vehicle is a challenging one. In this work acoustic signals generated by different category of vehicles will be used to detect its presence and classify its type. Many acoustic factors can contribute to the classification accuracy of ground vehicles. Acoustic signal classification consists of extracting the features from a roadside acquired acoustic signal, and of using these features to identify classes the acoustic signal is liable to fit.