Prototype to Increase Crosswalk Safety by Integrating Computer Vision with ITS-G5 Technologies

Abstract

Human errors are probably the main cause of car accidents, and this type of vehicle is one of the most dangerous forms of transport for people. The danger comes from the fact that on public roads there are simultaneously different types of actors (drivers, pedestrians or cyclists) and many objects that change their position over time, making difficult to predict their immediate movements. The intelligent transport system (ITS-G5) standard specifies the European communication technologies and protocols to assist public road users, providing them with relevant information. The scientific community is developing ITS-G5 applications for various purposes, among which is the increasing of pedestrian safety. This paper describes the developed work to implement an ITS-G5 prototype that aims at the increasing of pedestrian and driver safety in the vicinity of a pedestrian crosswalk by sending ITS-G5 decentralized environmental notification messages (DENM) to the vehicles. These messages are analyzed, and if they are relevant, they are presented to the driver through a car’s onboard infotainment system. This alert allows the driver to take safety precautions to prevent accidents. The implemented prototype was tested in a controlled environment pedestrian crosswalk. The results showed the capacity of the prototype for detecting pedestrians, suitable message sending, the reception and processing on a vehicle onboard unit (OBU) module and its presentation on the car onboard infotainment system.

Crosswalk Safety Warning System for Pedestrians to Cross the Street Intelligently

“…With the system installed at the intersection, it can reduce the speed of vehicles, increase the frequency of pedestrians looking around, and improve the safety awareness of drivers and pedestrians. Gaspar et al [10] described development work to implement an ITS-G5 prototype designed to improve pedestrian and driver safety near crosswalks by sending ITS-G5 dispersive environment notification messages (DENM) to vehicles, but the approach only enables early warning for drivers and requires a demanding testing environment. Patella et al [11] defined a new method, capable of improving safety performance based on realistic speed measurements, for assessing how illuminated pedestrian crossings affect the behavior of drivers approaching crosswalks in night-time conditions.…”