Patent ID: 11967229
Assignee: BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA, FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN HUNTSVILLE
Field: Control (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  H | IPC G  H

Claim 0:
1. A system for sensing vehicles on a road, comprising:
a first photosensor and a second photosensor each positioned on or in the road at a first location, the first photosensor and the second photosensor each configured to sense light and to provide respective first sensor data indicative of the light sensed by the first photosensor and second sensor data indicative of the light sensed by the second photosensor;
a third photosensor and a fourth photosensor each positioned on or in the road at a second location different from the first location, the third photosensor and the fourth photosensor each configured to sense light and to provide respective third sensor data indicative of the light sensed by the third photosensor and fourth sensor data indicative of the light sensed by the fourth photosensor;
at least one first processor configured to identify a first transition in the first sensor data and a second transition in the second sensor data;
at least one second processor configured to identify a third transition in the third sensor data and a fourth transition in the fourth sensor data;
wherein the first transition is in response to a shadow cast on the first photosensor by a first vehicle traveling over or near the first photosensor on or in the road,
wherein the second transition is in response to a shadow cast on the second photosensor by the first vehicle traveling over or near the second photosensor on or in the road,
wherein the third transition is in response to a shadow cast on the third photosensor by a second vehicle traveling over or near the third photosensor on or in the road,
wherein the fourth transition is in response to a shadow cast on the fourth photosensor by the second vehicle traveling over or near the fourth photosensor on or in the road,
wherein the at least one first processor is further configured to detect the first vehicle based on the first transition and the second transition,
wherein the at least one second processor is further configured to detect the second vehicle based on the third transition and the fourth transition,
wherein the at least one first processor is further coupled to a first communication interface,
wherein the at least one second processor is further coupled to a second communication interface,
wherein the first communication interface is configured to transmit information indicative of the detected first vehicle, and
wherein the second communication interface is configured to transmit information indicative of the detected second vehicle; and

a remote server in communication with the first communication interface and the second communication interface to receive the transmitted information, the remote server configured to perform analysis and calculations on the transmitted information to determine traffic pattern information.