Wireless sensor networks: Traffic information providers for intelligent transportation system

Effective intelligent transportation system depends on the abundance of timely road information. This paper first presents the role of road information by taking dynamic route guidance system as an example; and then explains the necessary of importing wireless sensor networks as road information providers. We illustrate the principle of using magnetic sensors to detect vehicles and how the road information is achieved by in-network aggregation. We also provide several scenarios of making use of the real time road information.