Enhanced Vehicle Identification Utilizing Sensor Fusion and Statistical Algorithms

Several studies in the area of vehicle detection and identification involve the use of probabilistic analysis and sensor fusion. While several sensors utilized for identifying vehicle presence and proximity have been researched, their effectiveness in identifying vehicle types has remained inadequate. This study presents the utilization of an ultrasonic sensor coupled with a magnetic sensor and the development of statistical algorithms to overcome this limitation. Mathematical models of both the ultrasonic and magnetic sensors were constructed to first understand the intrinsic characteristics of the individual sensors and also to provide a means of simulating the performance of the combined sensor system and to facilitate algorithm development. Preliminary algorithms that utilized this sensor fusion were developed to make inferences relating to vehicle proximity as well as type. It was noticed that while it helped alleviate the limitations of the individual sensors, the algorithm was affected by high occurrences of false positives. Also, since sensors carry only partial information about the surrounding environment and their measured quantities are partially corrupted with noise, probabilistic techniques were employed to extend the preliminary algorithms to include these sensor characteristics. These statistical techniques were utilized to reconstruct partial state information provided by the sensors and to also filter noisy measurement data. This probabilistic approach helped to effectively utilize the advantages of sensor fusion to further enhance the reliability of inferences made on vehicle identification. In summary, the study investigated the enhancement of vehicle identification through the use of sensor fusion and statistical techniques. The algorithms developed showed encouraging results in alleviating the occurrences of false positive inferences. One of the several applications of this study is in the use of ultrasonic-magnetic sensor combination for advanced traffic monitoring such as smart toll booths.