Influence of Vertical Sensor Placement on Data Collection Efficiency from Bluetooth MAC Address Collection Devices
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 12
Abstract
The consumer electronics industry has made extensive use of the Bluetooth wireless protocol in many portable devices. A substantial number of these Bluetooth devices broadcast a unique identifier in the form of the media access control (MAC) addresses. These MAC addresses can be captured electronically and the same matching algorithms used in traditional license plate studies can be used to estimate segment travel time and origin-destination matrices. This paper briefly illustrates how these data can be used to estimate arterial link travel times and empirically illustrates the sensitivity of sample size to sensor placement. A controlled experiment with fixed lateral mounting and varying vertical mounting heights is then conducted to develop design recommendations for mounting Bluetooth monitoring devices. The paper concludes by recommending a Class I Bluetooth detector mounting height of at least 8 ft above the pavement grade. Based on a 24-h empirical data set on I-65 in Indianapolis, we found that 7.4% of the vehicles within and 6.6% of the vehicles between and had a discoverable MAC address.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Asakura, Y., Hato, E., and Kashiwadani, M. (2000). “Origin-destination matrices estimation model using automatic vehicle identification data and its application to the Han-Shin expressway network.” Transportation, 27(4), 419–438.
Balke, K., Dudek, C., and Mountain, C. (1996). “Using probe-measured travel times to detect major freeway incidents in Houston, Texas.” Transp. Res. Rec., 1554, 213–220.
Fontaine, M., and Smith, B. (2005). “Freeway operations. I: Probe-based traffic monitoring systems with wireless location technology: Investigation of the relationship between system design and effectiveness.” Transp. Res. Rec., 1925, 2–11.
Hellinga, B., and Fu, L. (1999). “Assessing expected accuracy of probe vehicle travel time reports.” J. Transp. Eng., 125(6), 524–530.
Nanthawichit, C., Nakatsuji, T., and Suzuki, H. (2003). “Application of probe-vehicle data for real-time traffic-state estimation and short-term travel-time prediction on a freeway.” Transp. Res. Rec., 1855, 49–59.
Quiroga, C., and Bullock, D. (1999). “Travel time information using global positioning system and dynamic segmentation techniques.” Transp. Res. Rec., 1660, 48–57.
Schaefer, M. C. (1988). “License plate matching surveys: Practical issues and statistical considerations.” ITE J., 58, 37–42.
Sen, A., Thakuriah, P., Zhu, X.-Q., and Karr, A. (1997). “Frequency of probe reports and variance of travel time estimates.” J. Transp. Eng., 123(4), 290–297.
Shuldiner, P. W., D’Agostino, S. A., and Woodson, J. B. (1996). “Determining detailed origin-destination and travel time patterns using video and machine vision license plate matching.” Transp. Res. Rec., 1551, 8–17.
Tarnoff, P. J., Wasson, J. S., Young, S. E., Ganig, N., Bullock, D. M., and Sturdevant, J. R. (2009). “Continuing evolution of travel time data information collection and processing.” Transportation Research Record No. 2030, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.
Wasson, J. S., Sturdevant, J. R., and Bullock, D. M. (2008). “Real-time travel time estimates using media access control address matching.” ITE J., 78(6), 20–23.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 136 • Issue 12 • December 2010
Pages: 1104 - 1109
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: May 17, 2009
Accepted: May 4, 2010
Published online: Jun 10, 2010
Published in print: Dec 2010
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.