International Journal of Control and Automation

Vol. 9, No. 7 (2016), pp.251-262

http//dx.doi.org/10.14257/ijca.2016.9.7.23

Conceptual Design of Intelligent Traffic Light Controller

Yair Wiseman
Computer Science Department, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
wiseman@cs.biu.ac.il

Abstract
More than a few aspects should be taken into consideration when drawing up plans for
a traffic light system. If the planners disregard some of these aspects, the traffic light
might be not just ineffective, but even more – it might harm the flow of the traffic, might
increase the carbon emission and the severest – it might cause vehicle accidents. With the
aim of confronting this challenging objective, we suggest in this paper a scheme for a
functional intelligent traffic light system model.

Keywords: Traffic light, State Machine, Inductive Detector Loops

1. Introduction
Traffic lights have been turning out to be more sophisticated since their invention
at 1868 [1]. The new generation of traffic lights is called "intelligent traffic lights"
and it contains digital electronic units derived from common computers [ 2]. Traffic
lights are one of the oldest safety apparatus for transportation [3]; however, traffic
lights can have both positive and negative effects on transportation safety;
particularly traffic lights can increase the chances for rear end vehicle accidents [ 4].
Computed collision detection simulations can help deciding whether to install a
traffic light in a questionable intersection [ 5,6]. Yet, when the new autonomous
vehicles will be widespread, these decisions may be changed [7,8,9].

2. Traffic Light Model

We consider an intersection of two roads and a controllable traffic light system is
in charge of the lights on all of the intersection corners. In Israel most of the major
roads are North-South; therefore we consider the North-South road as the major
road and the East-West road as a minor road. Accordingly, we gave the North-South
road triple time period.
In countries where the traffic goes on the right side of the road, the right turns are
easier; because they do not interfere with the traffic from the opposite direction. In
Israel vehicles go on the right side of the road; therefore, the left turns are more
problematic. There are two possibilities what to do when the left turns get the green
light:
Let two left turns from opposite directions to go together as they will not intrude
into each other's path.
Let the traffic comes from one side and goes straight or goes left to be in motion
together.
We have chosen the second option.
As the traffic of the left turns is usually sparse, we consider Inductive Detector
Loops [10,11] installed under of the left turn lanes pavement. If the detector does
not indicate a vehicle in the turn left lane, the green light for this turn will be
skipped in this iteration.
The state machine for this traffic light is depicted in Figure 1.

ISSN: 2005-4297 IJCA

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International Journal of Control and Automation
Vol. 9, No. 7 (2016)

Figure 1. Description of the States in the Traffic Light

3. Controlling the Lights According to the Atates

The lights are decided only according to the states [12]. The inputs from the
Inductive Detector Loops have an effect only on the next state decision. This is
actually the different of Mealy machines [13] and Moore machines [14]. In Mealy
machines, the input has a direct effect on the output, whereas in Moore machines the
input affects the output only through the selection of the states. In view of that, our
machine is a Moore machine.
We use Karnaugh maps [15] to find the simplest functions for implementing these
circuits. As can be seen in Figure 1, we have 12 states numbered from 0 to 11, so we
need ⌈ ⌉ flip-flops to implement this state machine i. e. we need four flip-
flops. We have denoted these flip-flops as A, B, C, D. Four flip-flops will give us
16 states but as a matter of fact, only the first 12 states are needed. The other states
are considered as "don't care" as denoted by "X". We have considered green light as
"1" and red light as "0".

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Figure 2. Karnaugh Map for East-West Direction

The first traffic light we take is for the East-West direction. The Karnaugh map
for this direction is depicted in Figure 2 and according to this map the minimized
Boolean function for this direction is
̅̅ ̅ ̅
According to De Morgan's laws it can be also expressed as:
̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ ̅
The implementation of this Boolean function can be found in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Gate Implementation for the Circuit of East-West Direction

The traffic light of the East-South direction is much easier, because it has a green
light only when the state is "1". Therefore, there is no need for Karnaugh map for
this direction and it can be implemented straightforwardly to detect just when the
combination of ABCD is 0001 as can be seen Figure 4.

Figure 4. Gate Implementation for the Circuit of East-South Direction.

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Unlike the traffic light of the East-South direction, the traffic light of the North-
South direction has several states that bring about a green light. These states are
detailed in Figure 1 and they were put in the Karnaugh map in Figure 5 so as to
minimize the Boolean function.

Figure 5. Karnaugh Map for North-South Direction.

According to the Karnaugh map in Figure 5, the Boolean function for the North-
South direction is:
̅ ̅ ̅ ̅̅
The implementation of this Boolean function can be found in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Gate Implementation for the Circuit of North-South Direction.

The traffic light of the North-East direction is pretty similar to the traffic light of
the East-South direction. It has a green light only when the state is "5". Therefore,

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there is no need for Karnaugh map for this direction and it can be implemented
straightforwardly to detect just when the combination of ABCD is 0101; however,
since the values 1101 for ABCD are defined as "don't care", we can
uncomplicatedly see that flip-flop A can be omitted from the circuit of the North-
East direction's traffic light and we actually has to check for the combination 101
for only BCD. The implementation can be seen Figure 7.

Figure 7. Gate Implementation for the Circuit of North-East Direction.

The traffic light for the West-East direction is fairly similar to the traffic light of
the East-West direction. They gives a green light in the same states, except of state
"1" that was replaced by state "7" in the West-East direction.

Figure 8. Karnaugh Map for West-East Direction.

The Karnaugh map for the West-East direction is depicted in Figure 8. According
to this map the minimized Boolean function for the West-East direction is expressed
by this Boolean expression:
̅̅ ̅ ̅
According to De Morgan's laws it can be also expressed as:
̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
The implementation of this Boolean function can be found in Figure 9.

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Figure 9. Gate Implementation for the Circuit of West-East Direction.

Like the other left turn traffic lights detailed below, the traffic light of the West -
North direction is unfussy. It has a green light only when the state is "7". Therefore,
again we do not make a Karnaugh map for this direction and it can be implemented
straightforwardly to detect just when the combination of ABCD is 0111; however,
like the West-North direction, there a set of value of ABCD which is defined as
"don't care" that can help us to minimize the function. If the values of ABCD are
1111, we do not care about the result of the function, so we can uncomplicatedly see
that here again flip-flop A can be omitted from the circuit of the West-North
direction's traffic light and we actually has to check for the combination 111 for
only BCD. The implementation can be seen Figure 10.

Figure 10. Gate Implementation for the Circuit of West-North Direction.

Like the traffic light of the North-South direction, the traffic light of the South-
North direction has seven states that bring about a green light. These states are
detailed in Figure 1 and they were put in the Karnaugh map in Figure 11 so as to
minimize the Boolean function.

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Figure 11. Karnaugh Map for South-North Direction.

According to the Karnaugh map in Figure 11, the Boolean function for the South-
North direction is:
̅ ̅̅
The implementation of this Boolean function can be found in Figure 12.

Figure 12. Gate Implementation for the Circuit of South-North Direction.

The last traffic light is for the South-West direction. It has just one state that
brings about a green light – state "11". Therefore, again we a Karnaugh map for this
direction is not necessary and it can be implemented straightforwardly to detect just
when the combination of ABCD is 1011; however, like the West-North direction
and the North-East direction, there a set of value of ABCD which is defined as
"don't care" that can help us to minimize the function. If the values of ABCD are
1111, we do not care about the result of the function, so unlike the West-North
direction and the North-East direction where flip-flop A could be omitted, in the
South-West direction we can clearly see that flip-flop B is the flip-flop that can be
omitted from the circuit of the traffic light and we actually has to check for the
combination 111 for only ACD. The implementation can be seen Figure 13.

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Figure 13. Gate Implementation for the Circuit of South-West Direction.

4. Next State of the Traffic Light System

The next state functions are more complicated because we have four input lines
and four flip-flops, so in total we have eight lines entering into the circuit functions,
which are too much for a Karnaugh map. So, we will have to minimize the functions
by the Boolean Algebraic laws.

Figure 14. Gate Implementation for the Circuit of Next Value for Flip-
Flop A

The first next function we take is the next value for flip-flop A. We consider
standard Edge-Triggered D flip-flop, so the function is:
̅ ̅ ̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ ̅ ̅̅ ̅ ̅̅ ̅ ̅

The first product in this function assumes that the current state is 6; however,
adding states 7, 14 and 15 will make no harm, because from state 7 we always go to
state 8 regardless of the sensors and in state 8 flip-flop A should contain "1". States
14 and 15 do not exist, so we don't care what the value of flip-flop A will be in
these non-exist states, therefore we can minimize the first product to:
̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
The second product assumes that the current state is 7, but again we can add state
15 that do not exist and this addition will help us to minimize the product to:

The third and the forth products assume that current state is either 8 or 9. Here,
we can add state 12 and state 13 that do not exist and by this to minimize the third
and the forth products to:

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̅
The last product assume that the current state is 10; however, adding states 8, 12
and 14 will make no harm, because from state 8 we always go to state 9 regardless
of the sensors and in state 9 flip-flop A should contain "1". States 12 and 14 do not
exist, so we don't care what the value of flip-flop A will be in these non-exist states,
therefore we can minimize the first product to:
̅
Consequently, the next function of A should be:
̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ ̅ ̅
̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ ̅ ̅
We are not interested in the delay of the logic gates and the number of level that
we should be passed until getting the result, because anyway the clock cycle is very
long – few seconds; therefore, we focus on minimizing the number of gates, even if
the result is more level of gates and an extra delay time. The implementation of this
function can be found in Figure 14.
Unfortunately here again we do not have enough space in this paper to detail all
the next state functions; however, the chosen next state function can clearly point up
the system configuration.

5. Conclusions
Vehicular safety equipment is divided into two general categories. The equipment
within the vehicle [16,17,18] and equipment in the vehicle environment [ 19,20].
Traffic lights are one of the most important safety equipment in the second
category. New approaches for traffic light configurations have been recently
suggested [21]. These approaches can be implemented in a dedicated chip [22] or in
a remote manner [23] and can have many benefits for many objectives like better
traffic flow [24,25] or carbon emissions mitigation [ 26]. Our proposition in this
paper can help traffic light designers drawing up plans for more efficient traffic
lights.

References
[1] W. M. Yao, H. W. Ding, Y. F. Zhao, Z. G. Liang and L. Z. Zhu, “The Application of the Exhaustive
Polling Theory in Intelligent Traffic System”, In MATEC Web of Conferences, vol. 44, (2016).
[2] J. Fang, “Intelligent traffic light controller design using FPGA”, In proceedings of IEEE International
Conference on Consumer Electronics (ICCE-2016), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, (2016), pp. 449-452.
[3] Y. Wiseman and Y. Giat, “Multi-modal passenger security in Israel”, Multimodal Security in Passenger
and Freight Transportation: Frameworks and Policy Applications, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited,
Chapter 16, (2016), pp. 246-260.
[4] D. L. Strayer, and F. A. Drew, “Profiles in driver distraction: Effects of cell phone conversations on
younger and older drivers”, Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society,
vol. 46, no. 4, (2004), pp. 640-649.
[5] I. Grinberg and Y. Wiseman, “Scalable Parallel Simulator for Vehicular Collision Detection”,
International Journal of Vehicle Systems Modelling and Testing, Inderscience Publication, vol. 8, no. 2,
(2013), pp. 119-144.
[6] I. Grinberg and Y. Wiseman, “Scalable Parallel Collision Detection Simulation”, In Proceedings of
Signal and Image Processing, Honolulu, Hawaii, (2007), pp. 380-385.
[7] Y. Wiseman and I. Grinberg, “Circumspectly Crash of Autonomous Vehicles”, proceedings of IEEE
International Conference on Electro/Information Technology (EIT 2016), Grand Forks, North Dakota,
USA, (2016).
[8] Y. Wiseman and I. Grinberg, “Autonomous Vehicles Should Not Collide Carelessly”, Advanced
Science and Technology Letters, (2016).
[9] Y. Wiseman and I. Grinberg, “When an Inescapable Accident of Autonomous Vehicles is Looming”,
International Journal of Control and Automation, (2016).
[10] C. Oh, S. Park and S. G. Ritchie, “A method for identifying rear-end collision risks using inductive loop
detectors”, Accident Analysis & Prevention, Elsevier publications, vol. 38, no. 2, (2006), pp. 295-301.

Copyright © 2016 SERSC 259

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Vol. 9, No. 7 (2016)

[11] Y. Wiseman, “Compression scheme for RFID equipment”, proceedings of IEEE International
Conference on Electro/Information Technology (EIT 2016), Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA, May 19-
21, (2016).
[12] Y. Wiseman, “Traffic Light with Inductive Detector Loops and Diverse Time Periods”, Advanced
Science and Technology Letters, (2016).
[13] A. Fides, H. Kuppens, J. Tretmans, F. Vaandrager and S. Verwer, “Improving active Mealy machine
learning for protocol conformance testing”, Machine Learning Journal, vol. 96, no. 1-2, (2014), pp. 189-
224.
[14] M. Morrison and N. Ranganathan, “Design of a Moore finite state machine using a novel reversible
logic gate, decoder and synchronous up-counter”, In 11th IEEE Conference on Nanotechnology (IEEE-
NANO) , (2011), pp. 1445-1449.
[15] M. E. Holder, “A modified Karnaugh map technique”, IEEE Transactions on Education, vol. 48, no. 1,
(2005), 206-207.
[16]Y. Wiseman, “Take a Picture of Your Tire!”, Proceedings of IEEE Conference on Vehicular Electronics
and Safety, Qingdao, ShanDong, China, (2010), pp. 151-156.
[17] Y. Wiseman, “The Effectiveness of JPEG Images Produced By a Standard Digital Camera to Detect
Damaged Tyres”, World Review of Intermodal Transportation Research, vol. 4, no. 1, (2013), pp. 23-36.
[18] Y. Wiseman, “Camera That Takes Pictures of Aircraft and Ground Vehicle Tires Can Save Lives”,
Journal of Electronic Imaging, vol. 22, no. 4, paper no. 041104, (2013).
[19] R. Ben Yehuda and Y. Wiseman, “The Offline Scheduler for Embedded Transportation Systems”, In
Proceedings of IEEE Conference on Industrial Electronics (IEEE ICIT-2011), Auburn, Alabama,
(2011),pp. 449-454.
[20] R. Ben Yehuda and Y. Wiseman, “The Offline Scheduler for Embedded Vehicular Systems”,
International Journal of Vehicle Information and Communication Systems, vol. 3, no. 1, (2013), pp. 44-
57.
[21] S. B. Cools, C. Gershenson and B. D’Hooghe, “Self-organizing traffic lights: A realistic simulation”, In
Advances in applied self-organizing systems, Springer, London, Chapter 3, (2013), pp. 45-55.
[22] Y. Wiseman, “A Pipeline Chip for Quasi Arithmetic Coding”, IEICE Journal - Trans. Fundamentals,
Tokyo, Japan, vol. E84-A, no.4, (2001), pp. 1034-1041.
[23] Y. Wiseman, K. Schwan and P. Widener, “Efficient End to End Data Exchange Using Configurable
Compression”, Operating Systems Review, ACM Special Interest Group on Operating Systems, vol. 39,
no. 3, (2005), pp. 4-23.
[24] J. de Gier, T. M. Garoni and O. Rojas, “Traffic flow on realistic road networks with adaptive traffic
lights”, Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, IOP Publishing, vol. 04, P04008,
(2011).
[25] R. C. Carlson, I. Papamichail, M. Papageorgiou and A. Messmer, “Optimal mainstream traffic flow
control of large-scale motorway networks”, Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies,
vol. 18, no. 2, (2010), pp. 193-212.
[26] M. Ferreira and P. M. d'Orey. “On the impact of virtual traffic lights on carbon emissions mitigation”,
IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, vol. 13, no. 1, (2012), pp. 284-295.

Author

Yair Wiseman, he got a Summa Cum Laude M.Sc. and a PhD from
Bar-Ilan University and completed two Post-Doc - one at the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem and one in Georgia Institute of Technology.
Dr. Wiseman's research interests include Computational
Transportation Science, Intelligent Transportation Systems, Process
Scheduling, Hardware-Software Codesign, Memory Management,
Computer Clusters, Data Compression, JPEG, Embedded Systems,
Real-Time Systems and Operating Systems.
Dr. Wiseman is on the editorial board of several journals, a member
of dozens of conference committees and a reviewer of many scholarly
journals. Dr. Wiseman authored two books as well.
In addition, Dr. Wiseman has been teaching in many institutes
including Bar-Ilan University, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem,
Israel Aircraft Industry, Holon Institute of Technology and Jerusalem
College of Technology.

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Dr. Wiseman has been supervising many graduate students and an

interesting point is that Albert Einstein is Dr. Wiseman's academic
great-great-grandfather (i.e. the advisor of the advisor of the advisor of
Dr. Wiseman's advisor).
Dr. Wiseman has collaborated with other partners and received
research grants to run an active laboratory from inter alia Sun
Microsystems, Intel, Polak Foundation and the Open University.
Dr. Wiseman is an international expert who has reviewed and
evaluated several large projects of the European Union, Israel Science
Foundation, MB Logic and more. Dr. Wiseman's papers have been
published in many venues around the world.

1. W. M. Yao, H. W. Ding, Y. F. Zhao, Z. G. Liang and L. Z. Zhu. "The Application of the

Exhaustive Polling Theory in Intelligent Traffic System." In MATEC Web of Conferences, vol.
44, 2016.
2. J. Fang, "Intelligent traffic light controller design using FPGA" In proceedings of IEEE
International Conference on Consumer Electronics (ICCE-2016), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, pp.
449-452, 2016.
3. Y. Wiseman and Y. Giat, "Multi-modal passenger security in Israel", Multimodal Security in
Passenger and Freight Transportation: Frameworks and Policy Applications, Edward Elgar
Publishing Limited, Chapter 16, pp. 246-260, 2016.
4. D. L. Strayer, and F. A. Drew, "Profiles in driver distraction: Effects of cell phone conversations
on younger and older drivers", Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics
Society, Vol. 46, no. 4, pp. 640-649, 2004.
5. I. Grinberg and Y. Wiseman, "Scalable Parallel Simulator for Vehicular Collision Detection",
International Journal of Vehicle Systems Modelling and Testing, Vol. 8(2), pp. 119-144, 2013.
6. I. Grinberg and Y. Wiseman, "Scalable Parallel Collision Detection Simulation", In Proceedings
of Signal and Image Processing, Honolulu, Hawaii, pp. 380-385, 2007.
7. Y. Wiseman and I. Grinberg, "Circumspectly Crash of Autonomous Vehicles", IEEE
International Conference on Electro/Information Technology (EIT 2016), Grand Forks, North
Dakota, USA, 2016.
8. Y. Wiseman and I. Grinberg, "Autonomous Vehicles Should Not Collide Carelessly", Advanced
Science and Technology Letters, 2016.
9. Y. Wiseman and I. Grinberg, "When an Inescapable Accident of Autonomous Vehicles is
Looming", International Journal of Control and Automation, 2016.
10. C. Oh, S. Park, and S. G. Ritchie, "A method for identifying rear-end collision risks using
inductive loop detectors", Accident Analysis & Prevention, Vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 295-301, 2006.
11. Y. Wiseman, "Compression scheme for RFID equipment", IEEE International Conference on
Electro/Information Technology (EIT 2016), Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA, 2016.
12 Y. Wiseman, "Traffic Light with Inductive Detector Loops and Diverse Time Periods",
Advanced Science and Technology Letters, 2016.
13. A. Fides, H. Kuppens, J. Tretmans, F. Vaandrager, and S. Verwer, "Improving active Mealy
machine learning for protocol conformance testing", Machine Learning Journal, Vol. 96, no. 1-2,
pp. 189-224, 2014.
14. M. Morrison and N. Ranganathan, "Design of a Moore finite state machine using a novel reversible logic
gate, decoder and synchronous up-counter" In 11th IEEE Conference on Nanotechnology (IEEE-NANO),
pp. 1445-1449, 2011.
15. M. E. Holder, "A modified Karnaugh map technique", IEEE Transactions on Education, Vol. 48, no. 1,
206-207, 2005.
16. Y. Wiseman, "Take a Picture of Your Tire!", Proceedings of IEEE Conference on Vehicular Electronics
and Safety, Qingdao, ShanDong, China, pp. 151-156, 2010.
17. Y. Wiseman, "The Effectiveness of JPEG Images Produced By a Standard Digital Camera to Detect
Damaged Tyres", World Review of Intermodal Transportation Research, Vol. 4(1), pp. 23-36, 2013.
18. Y. Wiseman, "Camera That Takes Pictures of Aircraft and Ground Vehicle Tires Can Save Lives",
Journal of Electronic Imaging, Vol. 22(4), paper no. 041104, 2013.
19. R. Ben Yehuda and Y. Wiseman, "The Offline Scheduler for Embedded Transportation Systems", In
Proceedings of IEEE Conference on Industrial Electronics (IEEE ICIT-2011), Auburn, Alabama, pp. 449-
454, 2011.

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International Journal of Control and Automation
Vol. 9, No. 7 (2016)

20. R. Ben Yehuda and Y. Wiseman, "The Offline Scheduler for Embedded Vehicular Systems", International
Journal of Vehicle Information and Communication Systems, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 44-57, 2013.
21. S. B. Cools, C. Gershenson, and B. D’Hooghe, "Self-organizing traffic lights: A realistic simulation", In
Advances in applied self-organizing systems, pp. 45-55, Springer, London, 2013.
22. Y. Wiseman, "A Pipeline Chip for Quasi Arithmetic Coding", IEICE Journal - Trans. Fundamentals,
Tokyo, Japan, Vol. E84-A No.4, pp. 1034-1041, 2001.
23. Y. Wiseman, K. Schwan and P. Widener, "Efficient End to End Data Exchange Using Configurable
Compression", Operating Systems Review, Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 4-23, 2005.
24. J. de Gier, T. M. Garoni and O. Rojas, "Traffic flow on realistic road networks with adaptive traffic
lights", Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, Vol. 04, P04008, 2011.
25. R. C. Carlson, I. Papamichail, M. Papageorgiou and A. Messmer, "Optimal mainstream traffic flow
control of large-scale motorway networks", Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, Vol.
18, no. 2, pp. 193-212, 2010.
26. M. Ferreira and P. M. d'Orey. "On the impact of virtual traffic lights on carbon emissions mitigation",
IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, Vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 284-295, 2012.

262 Copyright © 2016 SERSC