Bluetooth in Intelligent Transportation Systems: A Survey

The rise of Bluetooth-equipped devices in personal consumer electronics and in in-car systems has revealed the potential to develop Bluetooth sensor systems for applications in intelligent transportation systems. These applications may include measurements of traffic presence, density, and flow, as well as longitudinal and comparative traffic analysis. A basic Bluetooth sensor system for traffic monitoring consists of a Bluetooth probe device (s) that scans for other Bluetooth-enabled device (s) within its radio proximity, and then stores the data for future analysis and use. The scanned devices are typically on-board vehicular electronics and consumer devices carried by the driver and/or passengers which use Bluetooth communications, and which then reasonably proxy for the vehicle itself. This paper surveys the scope and evolution of these systems, with system attributes and design decisions illustrated via a reference design. The work provides motivation for continued development of non-invasive systems that leverage the existing communication infrastructure and consumer devices that incorporate short range communication technology like Bluetooth.