Ambulance-to-Traffic Light Controller Communications for Rescue Mission Enhancement : A Thailand Use Case

Suthaputchakun, Chakkaphong and Cao, Yue (2019) Ambulance-to-Traffic Light Controller Communications for Rescue Mission Enhancement : A Thailand Use Case. IEEE Communications Magazine, 57 (12). pp. 91-97. ISSN 0163-6804

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Abstract

During rescue missions, transferring injured people from accident scenes to rescue sites is considered crucial and time-sensitive. In particular, a one-second delay could put more lives in danger. Though ambulances are commonly equipped with standard siren devices, such siren signals are not recognized by traffic light controllers. Therefore, rescue missions could be delayed at intersections due to an urgency-unaware traffic light control system. In the worst case, pile-up accidents could also happen when the ambulances lawfully ignores the traffic lights. This paper proposes A2T to enhance the efficiency of rescue missions, by establishing a communication mechanism among ambulances and infrastructures (e.g., traffic light controllers). Thailand, which had the highest road traffic death rate in the world in 2015, is selected as a use case in this paper. A2T promotes information sharing between ambulances and traffic light controllers along the rescue path in advance. Such information, including speeds, locations, and emergency routes, allows the traffic light controllers to launch a prioritized green traffic light accordingly. This allows the ambulances to go through any road intersection efficiently and safely. Our comprehensive performance evaluation shows that A2T achieves 100 percent waiting time reduction for the ambulances, with only 2.48 percent increase in delay of other vehicles at the intersections.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
IEEE Communications Magazine
Additional Information:
©2019 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE.
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1700/1705
Subjects:
?? computer networks and communicationscomputer science applicationselectrical and electronic engineering ??
ID Code:
135758
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
25 Jul 2019 07:55
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
19 Mar 2024 00:40