Field-programmable gate array-based traffic detection unit using anisotropic magnetoresistive sensor

Abstract

The increasing impact of traffic congestion in urban areas has intensified research efforts toward the development of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) aimed at reducing congestion-related economic losses, improving commuter experience by minimizing travel delays, and mitigating environmental pollution caused by vehicular emissions. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have emerged as an effective solution for implementing ITS systems due to their low deployment cost, compact size, and flexible wireless communication capabilities. These networks are composed of multiple sensor nodes, which serve as the fundamental building blocks for acquiring real-time traffic information. In this paper, a traffic detection sensor node is developed on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), exploiting its reconfigurable architecture to overcome the limited flexibility of conventional ASIC- and microcontroller-based solutions. The proposed design offers hardware adaptability, high processing capability, and scalability, making it suitable for evolving traffic monitoring requirements and future system extensions. Vehicle passage is detected using a magnetic sensor that captures changes in the earth’s magnetic field resulting from vehicle movement, while wireless data transmission is achieved using the ZigBee communication protocol. Experimental results conducted under real urban traffic conditions demonstrate that the proposed system reliably detects and transmits vehicle magnetic signatures, achieving a detection accuracy of 93.2%.