US-20260127966-A1 - SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRAFFIC CONTROL USING REAL-TIME CROSSING PREDICTION OF PEDESTRIANS

US20260127966A1US 20260127966 A1US20260127966 A1US 20260127966A1US-20260127966-A1

Abstract

A system controls intersection vehicle and pedestrian crossing signals using a camera to automatically detect when a pedestrian intends to cross a roadway at a crosswalk. The system automatically detects pedestrian presence, and uses trained AI to determine from pedestrian pose and location data whether the pedestrian intends to cross the roadway. On detection of the pedestrian's intent to cross, the system transmits a signal to the intersection controller corresponding to the pedestrian manual button signal, and causing the controller to initiate the pedestrian crossing phase. The system also monitors the presence of the pedestrian in the crosswalk, and extends the pedestrian crossing phase when needed, and also displays indicators directing vehicles to yield to pedestrians or make no turn on red where a pedestrian is detected in a crosswalk with potential conflict with a vehicle traffic signal.

Inventors

Mohamed Abdel-Aty
Zubayer Islam
Ahmed Abdelrahman

Assignees

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251103

Claims (20)

1 . A method for controlling a traffic signal directed to vehicles travelling on a roadway to which the traffic signal is directed, said method comprising: automatically monitoring an area adjacent a pedestrian crossing so as to detect the presence of a pedestrian therein; and detecting physical parameters of the pedestrian; determining from the physical parameters of the pedestrian whether there is a likelihood that the pedestrian will cross the pedestrian crossing; and responsive to a determination that the pedestrian is likely to cross the pedestrian crossing, causing the traffic signal to display a directive to said vehicles so that the vehicles permit the pedestrian to cross the pedestrian crossing.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the sensing and making of the determination of the pedestrian crossing is performed using a camera generating an electronic signal that comprises video of the pedestrian in said area.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the making of the determination includes deriving location data and pose data for the pedestrian and making the determination of intent of the pedestrian to cross the pedestrian crossing therefrom.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the location data includes data identifying the pedestrian crossing and data indicative of a distance of the detected pedestrian therefrom;
5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the pose data comprises data indicative of position of a head or upper body of the pedestrian.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the causing of the traffic signal to display the directive is either performed by direct control of the traffic signal, or by transmitting an electronic signal to a controller that is configured to control the traffic signal responsive to activation of a pedestrian push button and the electronic signal sent to the controller is treated by the controller as a signal from the activation of the pedestrian push button when pushed.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the making of the determination is by computer system that is either an AI system or a computer provided with programming derived from an AI system, and said AI system was trained to differentiate between pedestrians that cross at the pedestrian crossing and pedestrians that are sensed but do not cross by providing to the AI system historical pose, location and crossing result data comprising: a number of pedestrian location and pose data sets; and for each of the pedestrian location and pose data sets, a respective crossing result data indicative of whether the pedestrian crossed the pedestrian crossing.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the area is also adjacent a second pedestrian crossing, and the AI system has been trained to determine which of the pedestrian crossings the pedestrian is likely to cross.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein, when the traffic signal is a red light directed to traffic that may turn right and enter the pedestrian crossing, and it is determined from the video signal that the pedestrian has entered, or is likely to enter, the pedestrian crossing, the directive displayed by the traffic signal includes a red light signal and a display indicating that vehicles at the red light should not turn right during the red light signal, said display indicating that vehicles at the red light should not turn right during the red light signal being displayed only when it is determined that the pedestrian is in the pedestrian crossing or intends to enter the pedestrian crossing.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein, when the traffic signal is a green light directed to traffic that may turn right and enter the pedestrian crossing, and it is determined from the video signal that the pedestrian has entered, or is likely to enter, the pedestrian crossing, the directive displayed by the traffic signal includes a display indicating that turning vehicles should yield to pedestrians, said display indicating that turning vehicles should yield to pedestrians being displayed only when it is determined that the pedestrian is in the pedestrian crossing or intends to enter the pedestrian crossing.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises sensing presence of the pedestrian in the pedestrian crossing, and determining whether the pedestrian crossing the pedestrian crossing is still in the pedestrian crossing during a time period of the display of the directive, and responsive to the determination that the pedestrian is still in the crossing, extending the time period of the display of the directive for the traffic signal long enough to allow the pedestrian to complete crossing of the pedestrian crossing.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method is applied to an intersection having two or more phases of traffic control, and the method further comprises sensing other pedestrians in at least one area adjacent at least one other pedestrian crossing for which at least one other traffic signal is configured to display directives to vehicles affecting said at least one other pedestrian crossing; and determining whether pedestrians in the area have an intent to cross the other pedestrian crossing, and responsive to a determination of the intent, causing the other traffic signal to display a directive against vehicles entering the pedestrian crossing in the pedestrian crossing associated therewith.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the historical pose, location and crossing result data is provided from an intersection different from where the method is applied.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises sensing presence of the pedestrian after the controller has been directed to process a pedestrian push button signal; and directing the controller to cancel the processing of the pedestrian signal responsive to a determination that the pedestrian has left the crosswalk and the area adjacent thereto.
15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination of the physical parameters of the pedestrian includes estimation of pose data for the pedestrian, and the estimation of the pose data is performed only after a determination that the pedestrian has been in the area for at predetermined period of time, and said estimation of the pose data foe the pedestrian being discontinued when the likelihood that the pedestrian will cross the pedestrian crossing is determined.
16 . An electronic system automatically controlling a traffic signal directed to vehicles travelling on a roadway to which the traffic signal is directed with a pedestrian crossing across said roadway, said system comprising: a controller controlling the traffic signal so as to selectively display thereon directives to at least some of the vehicles on the roadway; an automatic pedestrian crossing system connected with the controller, said automatic pedestrian crossing system having at least one camera having a field of view covering an area at least adjacent to the pedestrian crossing; a computerized pedestrian monitoring system connected with the camera and receiving therefrom an electronic video signal comprising a series of frames of the field of view of the camera; said pedestrian crossing system determining from the electronic video signal if a pedestrian is present in the area adjacent the pedestrian crossing, and responsive to a determination that a pedestrian is present in the area for a period of time of at least three seconds, deriving pose estimation data from the video signal corresponding to a pose of the pedestrian in the area; said pedestrian crossing system having a neural network trained to differentiate between poses of pedestrians that intend to cross the pedestrian crossing and pedestrians in the area that do not have said intent to cross the pedestrian crossing, said neural network processing the pose estimation data and deriving therefrom a determination whether or not the pedestrian has an intent to cross the pedestrian crossing; said pedestrian crossing system being connected with the controller and transmitting to the controller an electronic command responsive to a determination that the pedestrian has an intent to cross the pedestrian crossing; responsive to receiving the electronic command, the controller being configured to cause the traffic signal to enter an active pedestrian crossing state wherein the traffic signal displays a traffic directive configured to avoid conflict of some of the vehicles with pedestrians in the pedestrian crossing.
17 . The electronic system according to claim 15 , wherein the neural network is trained by providing thereto historical pose, location and crossing result data comprising: a number of pedestrian location and pose data sets; and for each of the pedestrian location and pose data sets, a respective crossing result data indicative of whether the pedestrian crossed the pedestrian crossing.
18 . The electronic system according to claim 15 , wherein the field of view also covers at least a portion of the pedestrian crossing, and the controller is configured to cause the traffic signal to enter the active pedestrian crossing state for a predetermined period of time, and the pedestrian crossing system monitoring the video signal so as to determine whether the pedestrian is in the pedestrian crossing when the predetermined period of time has elapsed, and, responsive to a determination that the pedestrian is still in the pedestrian crossing, issuing an electronic command to extend the active pedestrian crossing state of the traffic signal for an additional period of time.
19 . The electronic system according to claim 15 , wherein an additional pedestrian crossing is adjacent said area, and the determination of the intent of the pedestrian includes an identification of which of the pedestrian crossings the pedestrian has the intent to cross.
20 . The electronic system according to claim 15 , wherein the pedestrian crossing system monitors the video signal so as to determine whether the pedestrian actually enters the pedestrian crossing after the command to enter the active pedestrian crossing state of the traffic signal is sent to the controller, and responsive to a determination that the pedestrian has not entered the pedestrian crossing, transmitting a cancel command causing the controller to terminate the active pedestrian crossing state.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 63/715,387 filed on Nov. 1, 2024, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. This invention was made with Government support under Grant BED26-977-03 awarded by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and Grant BED26-977-03-562-6 awarded by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The Government has certain rights in this invention. FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to monitoring or predicting movement of persons, especially pedestrians and other vulnerable road users (VRUs), e.g., bicyclists, scooter riders, etc., and more particularly to systems for monitoring pedestrian movement in the context of traffic signal efficiency and VRU safety and eventually incorporation in signal control systems. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Pedestrian safety is a global concern, particularly acute at intersections where pedestrian and vehicle paths commonly intersect. Enhancing pedestrian safety is paramount in pursuit of the Vision Zero initiative, which arms to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries. Elevating the safety of all vulnerable road users (VRUs), such as pedestrians and cyclists, is vital in the pursuit of Vision Zero. In the United States, traffic crashes resulted in 6,516 pedestrian fatalities in 2020, a 3.9% increase from 6272 pedestrian fatalities in 2019, and an estimated 54,769 pedestrians were injured. In 2020, the number of bicyclist fatalities reached 938, 26% of which occurred at intersections. This represented a 9% increase in bicyclist fatalities, up from 859 in 2019. Pedestrian fatalities represent 17% of all traffic fatalities, with an increase of 53% in 2018 compared to 2009. Florida ranks third in terms of pedestrian fatalities per capita in the U.S., and the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford area is fifth among the deadliest metropolitan regions, with 656 pedestrian deaths recorded between 2008 and 2017. To mitigate these alarming numbers, researchers are exploring preventive measures using advanced techniques to proactively gauge crash likelihood. Enhancing the safety of vulnerable road users (VRUs) at intersections aims to eradicate traffic fatalities and severe injuries. The disregard of VRUs for designated signals, leading to crossing violations, is a significant issue, with studies showing that about half of VRUs at intersections fail to use the designated buttons for activating pedestrian signals, often due to unclear button placement. A major reason is pedestrian non-compliance with designated signals, leading to jaywalking. This appears to possibly be due to unclear button placement, insufficient signal timing, and distractions, which prevent pedestrians from activating signals or adhering to traffic rules. It also appears that, over half of pedestrians do not use the designated button to activate the pedestrian signal at intersections, and unclear button placement often leads to multiple buttons being pressed. The fundamental reasons for VRU-vehicle conflicts at intersections, which are significant factors in severe accidents, are apparently that VRUs frequently fail to activate crossing signals by pressing the push button and often disregard signals when crossing when it is not their turn. Such behavior places them at risk of dangerous encounters with oncoming traffic. VRU violations and frequent disregard for compliance emerge as leading factors contributing to VRU conflicts at intersections. Furthermore, it is desirable not only to enhance VRU safety but also to simultaneously maintain or enhance pedestrian signal performance. Improving signal performance while ensuring VRU safety is driven by the need to balance the critical aspects of urban mobility: the safety of VRUs and the efficiency of vehicular traffic flow. In modern urban centers, intersections are more than mere crossroads; they are pivotal points where the safety of VRUs such as pedestrians and cyclists intersect with the smooth functioning of traffic. Enhancing pedestrian safety while improving pedestrian signal performance is important for balancing urban mobility's critical aspects: pedestrian safety and vehicular traffic flow efficiency. Traditional traffic signal systems often struggle with the challenge of maintaining VRU safety at intersections without impeding vehicular flow, leading to a compromise on either safety or efficiency. It is desirable to provide safe and ample crossing experiences for VRUs while reducing unnecessary vehicle delays caused by false calls during the pedestrian phase. This not only enhances the safety and experience of VRUs but also contributes to a more fluid and less congested traffic system. Intersections are vital points in urban centers where pedestrian safety and traffic functionality converge. Traditional traffic signal systems often fail to maintain pedestrian safety without compromising traffic flow, resulting in inefficiencies. Studies of p