
Emerging Technology
Take A Ride With Intelligent Transport Systems
By TechDogs Editorial Team

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Overview
Some of us love long car rides, while some prefer train or boat rides. However, we’re sure you would trade that in for Aladdin’s magic carpet or Doctor Who’s TARDIS. They are not just cool ways to travel but extremely efficient too! Imagine not having to wait at gas stations or traveling over hour-long traffic jams. This is all to say that while transportation plays a major role in our daily routine, there is scope for some improvement. We should have had flying taxis by now, right?
Well, we’ve gone from horse-drawn chariots to cabs to bullet trains, developing faster and more effective means of transport. However, the future of transport will look much different than it does today. We’re talking about Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), which refers to advanced mobility applications that aim to provide innovative modes of transport and traffic management. Such systems will offer commuters safer, more coordinated and smarter transportation. Unfortunately, we won’t have flying taxis anytime soon – but ITS will be equally cool. #WePromise
Read on to find out what Intelligent Transport Systems are and how they will change our lives!
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We’ve all come across wacky transportation systems in movies, books and games: from Aladdin’s magic carpet to Willy Wonka’s flying elevator to the DeLorean from Back To The Future. Although they have fascinated and inspired us, the future of transport won’t be as far-fetched. As the population in urban areas continues to grow, there is increased demand for improved transport systems. Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) will step in to help us achieve that – and more!
Intelligent Transport Systems are mobility applications that use sensing, analytics and communication technologies to improve the safety, mobility and efficiency of transportation. ITS uses a wide range of devices that can process and share real-time information about transport elements (vehicles, road infrastructure, etc.) to ease traffic congestion, improve traffic management, minimize the environmental impact and enhance the effectiveness of public transportation systems. Sounds interesting, right?
Let’s hop on the magic flying carpet and learn about ITS in detail.
Understanding Intelligent Transportation System
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Owning a magic carpet must be cool but it’s not practical – what if it rains or you want to blast your favorite songs during the ride? That is why we need Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) – these set of applications leverage wireless, electronic and automated mobility technologies. Together, they help connect vehicles, commuters and transportation infrastructure to create a more intelligent mobility system.
Public transportation can be precisely tracked and managed, thanks to automated in-vehicle technologies. Collision avoidance systems and automated guideways can help reduce the number of accidents on roads. Additionally, ITS can help improve traffic flow in congested areas, cutting down on travel time and eliminating traffic jams. That's not all, ITS can help make the transportation infrastructure more eco-friendly by introducing autonomous public transport vehicles, which are smarter, cleaner and fuel-efficient.
In order to achieve all this, ITS relies on a gamut of technologies, such as IoT sensors, computer vision, Machine Learning algorithms, autonomous vehicles, etc. Although this concept has been in the works for a long time, it is still a “work in progress”– let’s see how far we’ve come in the last few decades.
Evolution And Origins Of Intelligent Transportation System
The World’s Fair of 1939-1940 held in New York had the tagline: the world of tomorrow. Staying true to that phrase, the most popular feature was a ride called Futurama in the General Motors Pavilion. It offered a glimpse into the future of transportation with automated, radio-controlled autonomous vehicles that could maintain the proper distance from one another without the risk of collision. The ride even boasted a display of roads that were planned to accommodate such smart vehicles for public transport.
Hence, it’s no wonder that General Motors created the Driver Aided Information and Routing System (DAIR) in the mid-1960s. Vehicles enabled by DAIR could send emergency notifications to a traffic center, including information about road conditions and accidents. The system relied on magnets that were spaced out along the road which used binary code to transmit information. DAIR also included a dashboard display panel in cars that could show alerts about potential road hazards. In 1966, General Motors equipped two vehicles with this technology.
By the late 1960s, the first North American traffic management centers (TMCs) were deployed. These centers collected and analyzed data about the freeway system, including weather, average vehicle speeds, traffic congestion, accidents, etc.
Then, in the mid-1980s, the term Intelligent Vehicle Highway System (IVHS) started gaining traction (pun intended!). It essentially described a set of technologies that would enable the processing, communication and management of information about vehicles and the road infrastructure to improve the safety and efficiency of transportation systems.
In 1994, the USDOT (United States Department of Transportation) officially authorized the term “Intelligent Transport Systems” as a replacement for IVHS. #FreshlyCoined
In 1999, USDOT’s ITS program was focused on exploring the potential of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)
and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication technologies. With advances being made in ITS technologies, the USDOT launched the Vehicle-Infrastructure-Integration (VII) Program in 2003.
These major landmarks helped shape ITS into its existing form. Today, such systems can integrate information from sensors in vehicles and on roads, as well as information from commuters, to create a smart transportation grid. Now, let’s smoothly drive on to the working of Intelligent Transport Systems, shall we?
How Will Intelligent Transportation Systems Work?

No, not like that – unless your name is Marty McFly and your best friend is a wacky scientist called Doc Brown!
Since ITS is an interconnected system, it brings road infrastructure, vehicles and commuters under one roof. By collecting and analyzing data through various sensors, it can create a more cohesive system for transportation. For example, Intelligent Transport System can offer insights to daily commuters about public transportation such as local buses; their timings, seat availability, current location, time to reach a particular destination, the density of passengers, etc. can all be communicated through applications or online portals. As these insights are based on real-time data and its analysis, ITS enables better commuter and traffic management.
The most vital element of an ITS is the Traffic Management Centre (TMC). It is a centralized system that is controlled by the local transportation authority where collected data is analyzed for real-time operational insights. Then, various agents can use these insights to better manage the traffic flow and road infrastructure. The TMC collects real-time information about vehicles, roads and users using IoT sensors embedded in public transport vehicles, roads and mobility infrastructure such as charging points.
The operations of the ITS relies heavily on Traffic Management Centre, which in turn relies on automated data collection, analysis and communication with commuters. This process can be further broken down into individual steps:
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Data Acquisition:
The data here is collected via various hardware devices such as inductive loop detectors, traffic sensors, cameras, video image detectors (VIDs), etc. The Traffic Management Center can monitor complex traffic situations using this real-time data and make informed decisions. Additionally, it analyzes data and provides insights into the vehicle count, average travel speed, vehicle density on the road, delays, etc.
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Data Processing:
It is necessary to process, consolidate and analyze the data gathered at the Traffic Management Center. This is accomplished by combining data from various sensors using data fusion. Additionally, data from the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Automatic Incident Detection (AID) system is processed. This collective data is analyzed to predict traffic scenarios, which are made available to road commuters and drivers.
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Commuter Insights:
Typically, commuters receive transportation updates from Travel Advisory Systems (TAS). These systems use a variety of channels, including variable message signs, highway advisory radio, internet channels, SMS, etc., to deliver real-time information such as traffic flow, travel speed, delays, accidents, diversions, work zone conditions, etc. With the help of this dynamic route guidance, commuters can make minute-by-minute decisions. #SmartCitiesComingSoon
Now that you know how ITS works, let’s take a quick look at the three main types.
Types Of Intelligent Transportation Systems
Just as you have various types of dream transportation systems, ITS also consists of three main types:
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Mobility ITS:
They are designed to offer the fastest path between an origin and destination while taking into account variables such as time, distance, fuel consumption, etc. This type depends on a data-rich environment to monitor and manage the performance of the transportation system by modifying traffic signals, dynamically managing transit routes, etc.
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Safety ITS:
By issuing advisories and warnings, this ITS application contributes to a decrease in collisions and accidents. These include vehicle safety technologies, which, for instance, can provide a speed warning before approaching a slick or wet road.
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Environment ITS:
This type of ITS uses traffic flow and congestion data to help make informed decisions that can decrease the environmental impact of day-to-day traveling. It aims to reduce road congestion by offering alternate routes or controlling vehicle speeds to make trips more eco-friendly.
Naturally, no matter the type of ITS, there are several benefits for the commuter. Read on to know what they are!
Benefits Of Intelligent Transportation System

Although the major benefit of ITS will be a more effective, streamlined and commuter-friendly transport system, traffic authorities will see major advantages, such as:
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Optimized Schedules:
ITS leverages the Excess Wait Time (EWT) algorithm to assess the average wait time that commuters experience between their origin and destination as a function of traffic flow. These systems will optimize the traffic signals and public transport vehicle operations to minimize the EWT for more time-effective transport services.
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Accident Reduction:
ITS will help reduce the number of accidents by using vehicles’ operational data and telemetrics to maintain a safe distance between vehicles. Thanks to real-time sensing and autonomous braking systems, avoiding accidents will be easier.
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Driver Profiling Systems:
By analyzing the insights from ITS, the behavior and performance of drivers can be captured. This helps in predicting human risks and mitigating them with mandatory training for drivers with poor scores.
Although there are many more benefits that we’ve seen above, ITS will assist city planners, traffic authorities and vehicle manufacturers to ensure a more efficient, secure and safer experience for commuters. So, how soon can we expect ITS to revolutionize our daily lives?
What Does The Future Of Intelligent Transportation Look Like?

It would be so much easier if we had the TARDIS – we could travel to the future and find out what all ITS has in store for us!
Well, what we know right now is that there were roughly 31.4 million autonomous cars globally in 2019. This number is expected to rise to 54.2 million by 2024. Autonomous and connected vehicles will see higher adoption as they can potentially answer environmental and road safety issues. This trend will boost innovations in Intelligent Transport Systems.
Moreover, ITS will develop the Internet of Vehicles (IoV), an emerging network made up of Internet of Things-enabled cars. These vehicles will connect with roadside sensors and also other vehicles to deliver inter-vehicle connectivity. The IoV will allow every vehicle to integrate information from various sources to optimize its performance and provide vital accident-avoidance capabilities. ITS will surely be the founding pillar of smart technologies such as IoV. Who knows, in the future, you might be reading this article while your smart car drives on smart roads – all thanks to Intelligent Transport Systems.
Conclusion
Intelligent Transport Systems, or ITS, is a mobility application that aims to connect commuters, vehicles and road infrastructure to get a comprehensive, real-time picture of the transportation grid. Using IoT sensors and Machine Learning algorithms, it can even optimize traffic flow and notify commuters of accidents, road closures and delays. ITS is the need of the hour with cities struggling to scale their transport systems to match the demands of the citizens.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS)?
Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) are applications that utilize wireless, electronic, and automated mobility technologies to create a smarter transportation system. These systems connect vehicles, commuters, and transportation infrastructure to improve safety, mobility, and efficiency. ITS employs various devices to gather and share real-time information about transport elements, enabling better traffic management, reduced congestion, and enhanced public transportation systems. ITS aims to create a more intelligent and responsive mobility ecosystem to meet the growing demands of urban areas.
How Did Intelligent Transportation Systems Evolve?
The concept of Intelligent Transportation Systems traces back to early 20th-century visions of futuristic transportation showcased at events like the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair. Over time, technologies such as the Driver Aided Information and Routing System (DAIR) developed by General Motors in the 1960s laid the foundation for modern ITS. The evolution continued with the establishment of North American Traffic Management Centers in the late 1960s and the emergence of the Intelligent Vehicle Highway System (IVHS) in the mid-1980s. The term "Intelligent Transport Systems" gained official recognition in 1994, leading to further advancements in vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication technologies. Today, ITS integrates data from various sensors and technologies to create a smart transportation grid.
How Do Intelligent Transportation Systems Work?
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) work by integrating road infrastructure, vehicles, and commuters into a cohesive system. Through data collection and analysis using sensors and IoT devices, ITS provides real-time insights into traffic flow, public transportation availability, road conditions, and more. Central to ITS operation is the Traffic Management Centre (TMC), where collected data is processed and analyzed to optimize traffic flow and manage road infrastructure. Commuters receive transportation updates through various channels, allowing them to make informed decisions based on current conditions. ITS enhances commuter and traffic management by providing accurate, real-time information and facilitating dynamic route adjustments.
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