Improving the Efficiency and Accuracy of ODOT Temporary Traffic Monitoring System
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Summary
This report details the development and validation of an automated Traffic Counting and Monitoring System (TCMS) designed to replace the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) inefficient, error-prone manual traffic data collection processes. The primary motivation was to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and speed of temporary vehicle data collection—specifically vehicle counts, speeds, and classifications—which are critical for road design, maintenance, and safety planning. The proposed framework automates the entire workflow, from on-site sensor configuration to data processing and presentation, thereby eliminating human entry errors and reducing deployment time. The system architecture comprises three integrated components: a portable Diamond Traffic Inc. Road Runner 3 (RR3) sensor for vehicle detection via road tubes; a custom Android application for on-site sensor calibration, data retrieval, and task management; and a cloud-based back-end server for data processing, storage, and visualization. The research team, from the University of Oklahoma, also investigated replacing the traditional wired USB connection with a wireless Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE 5) interface. Field testing of this wireless interface included Line-of-Sight (LOS) and Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) trials. LOS tests indicated optimal functionality at ranges of 15–20 feet, while NLOS tests, simulating real-world vehicle obstruction, determined that a minimum adapter height of 3.2 feet and a distance of 20 feet were required for reliable communication. The Android app features include GPS-based task mapping, offline operation capabilities, and tools for manual counting to validate sensor accuracy. The back-end infrastructure utilizes a MySQL database and a web service dashboard to process binary output files from the RR3 sensors. Custom algorithms decrypt and extract counting and classification data, validating it against historical records and tracking deployment success. The system supports both automatic and manual file uploads, with the server generating reports on vehicle counts, displacement, and progress. The database schema is normalized to manage sites, cases, binary files, and user authentication securely. The system was deployed and tested at various sites in Tulsa, with a two-year extension period dedicated to debugging, server maintenance, and further validation of the web service and mobile application functionalities. The significance of this work lies in the successful transition from manual to automated traffic monitoring, offering ODOT a robust, scalable solution for temporary traffic data collection. By integrating portable sensors, mobile technology, and cloud computing, the TCMS reduces operational costs, minimizes data entry errors, and provides rapid access to accurate traffic information. The validation of the wireless interface and the comprehensive data processing pipeline demonstrate the system's reliability and readiness for broader implementation, supporting better-informed transportation planning and infrastructure decisions.
Key finding
The automated Traffic Counting and Monitoring System successfully replaced manual data handling processes, with wireless connectivity tests confirming functional operation at distances of 15 to 20 feet under realistic non-line-of-sight conditions.
Methodology
field_study
Provenance
The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_rosap on 2026-05-23 (6 acquisition events logged).
| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | rosap | — | — | 2 | 2026-05-23 |
| archive | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
| clean | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| chunk | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| embed | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-02 |
| enrich | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 3 | 2026-06-10 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 24 | 2026-06-11 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.
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