International Journal of Scientific and Technical Advancements

ISSN: 2454-1532

VHDL Based FPGA Implemented Advanced Traffic

Light Controller System
Sahil Gupta
Department of ECE, MIET, Jammu, J&K, India
Email address: [email protected]

AbstractVehicular traffic at intersecting streets is typically controlled by traffic control lights. The function of traffic lights requires
sophisticated control and coordination to ensure that traffic moves as smoothly and safely as possible. In recent days electro-mechanical
controllers are replaced by electronic circuits. Besides being reliable and compact is also cost effective and to meet the requirements of solid
state traffic light controller by adopting FPGA (field-programmable gate array )board and VHDL language as the main controlling element,
and leds as the indication of light. The system can be tested and implemented in hardware using Xilinx Spartan 3E. The sensor and camera
can also be interfaced with FPGA. The system has many advantages over the exciting TLCs on most of the parts of the world. The scope of
this paper is to present the initial steps in the implementation of a smart traffic light control system based on Programmable Logic Controller
(PLC) technology. We intend to measure the traffic density by counting the number of vehicles in each lane and their weight, and send this
information to TCC (traffic control centre) and then it deviate the vehicles accordingly. VHDL makes the system versatile as the on and off
time can be easily varied by changing the delay loops through software.
Keywords Programmable logic controllers (PLC); weight sensor; counters; LEDs; SCADA traffic light control system; fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA).

I.

INTRODUCTION

II.

he main aim of designing AI (artificial intelligent)

traffic controllers is that the traffic controllers have
the ability to adapt to the real time data from
detectors to perform constant optimizations on the signal
timing plan for intersections in a network in order to reduce
traffic congestions, which is the main concern in traffic flows
control nowadays, at traffic intersections. The FPGA traffic
light control system needs to consider the current traffic
situation, which is base on the data from sensors. The FPGA
gets current signals of vehicles passing crossroad and base on
those signals send next step will be taken. Also it creates free
path or green waves for easy flow of traffic by synchronizing
data with TCC (traffic control centre) and using ad-hoc and
GPS technology. Traffic parameter Estimation has been an
active research area for the development of intelligent
Transportation systems (ITS). Traffic signals are the most
convenient method of controlling traffic in a busy junction.
But, we can see that these signals fail to control the traffic
effectively when a particular lane has got more traffic than the
other lanes. This situation makes that particular lane more
crowdie than the other lanes. If the traffic signals can allot
different lanes to different vehicles based on their weight, like
buses, trucks etc. in one lane, cars in one lane and like this the
traffic congestion can be solved by diverging the traffic
accordingly. In this project Field Programmable Gate Array
(FPGA) is used which is a reconfigurable hardware platform
useful for the implementation of high digital functions. Using
fixed point, parallel computational structures, FPGA provides
computational speeds as much as 100 times greater than those
possible with Digital Signal Processors (DSP).Xilinx Spartan3 FPGAs are ideal for low-cost, high-volume applications and
are targeted as replacements.

SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION

A. Roads Structure
Generally, a traffic signal system has three lights. A green
light on the bottom of the signal indicates the traffic to
proceed, a yellow light in the middle warns the traffic to slow
and prepare to stop, and red light on the top indicates the
traffic to stop. Figure 1 shows structure of any chowk
consisting of four main roads and each road is divided into
two main roads (straight and cross). We are using eight traffic
signals L1, L2,L8. There are four sensors on roads SW1,
SW2, SW3 and SW4 which will be on the speed breaker of
every lane. SW1, SW2, SW3 and SW4 sensors switches are
linked with traffic signals on (L1, L6), (L2, L5), (L3, L8) and
(L4, L7) respectively. Whenever any one of the sensors output
is enabled, appropriate traffic starts to continue on the roads
according to the position and priority of the switches and rest
of the signals are off.

Fig. 1. Structure of any chowk.

313
Sahil Gupta, VHDL based FPGA implemented advanced traffic light controller system, Journal of Scientific and Technical
Advancements, Volume 1, Issue 3, pp. 313-317, 2015.

International Journal of Scientific and Technical Advancements

ISSN: 2454-1532

In order to implement the applications indicated, a certain

level of intelligence is required in both the traffic light and the
regulator. Traditional traffic control systems are
unidirectional, from regulator to traffic lights, without any
response from the status of the traffic lights. One strategy for
optimum control and traffic management is the coordination of
traffic lights to create green waves. Currently, there exist
different strategies to calculate green waves. The main
purpose of these techniques is to reduce the Number of stops
and minimize the travel times in trips. Here we intend to use
weight sensors and counters to control the traffic with ease.
And send this information to TLC for control of the traffic
system.
III.

information distributed between multiple vehicles. Constantly,

the system is collecting data and predicting traffic congestion
on roadways throughout a large region. The traffic light
controller uses information collected by OBUs and RSUs and
sensors to automatically calculate the green time for each
traffic light phases and the green wave offset for a wide range
of cooperative intersections. In order to predict the green wave
offset, we assume that the system monitors the action of the
drivers, the position and the behavior of all other nearby
vehicles. The effect of this approach is less stops on roadways
resulting in increased traffic flow for equipped vehicles.

MODELING OVERVIEW

Components of our proposed model and their functions are

briefly summarized below.
A. On-Board Units (OBUs)
On-Board Units are responsible for car to car and car to
infrastructure communications. An OBU is equipped with at
least a single short range wireless
Communications network device. The network device is used
to send, receive and forward data in ad hoc domain.
B. Road-Side Units (RSUs)
A Road-Side Unit is a physical device located at fixed
positions along roads (and highways), or at dedicated
locations. An RSU is equipped with at least a network device
for short range wireless communications radio technology.
The main function of RSU are extending the communication
range of an ad-hoc network, possibly running safety
applications, possibly providing Internet connection to OBUs,
possibly cooperating with other RSUs in forwarding or in
distributing safety information etc .

Fig. 2. Model for adaptive traffic light control system.

IV.

SYSTEM WORKING

In this method we are proposing to reduce the heavy traffic

and congestion on the road by using PLC based traffic
diversion system. This would work on weight sensing using
sensors whose output will be fed to a PLC, which will control
the traffic diversion. This method is in two parts:

C. Traffic Light Controller (TLC)

We suppose that TLC can wireless/wired communicate
with OBUs, RSUs, and other adjacent TLC, and takes into
account the physical presence of vehicles, and queue length of
vehicles for deciding signal timing. It also takes into account
the Adaptive traffic light control system using ad hoc
vehicular communications network figure 2. The propose
model for adaptive traffic light control system.

A. Diversion
Weight sensor is placed at toll booth. It senses the weight
& sends signal to PLC. PLC will generate a slip having the
info about the vehicle in the form of barcode. PLC will give
the diversion according to the weight of the vehicle.
B. Congestion Control
In this there are two counters UP Counter (at the starting
of the road) & DOWN Counter (at the end of the road) whose
max value is 100. When a vehicle enters the road, UP Counter
is set and vice versa. There are 3 conditions for allowing the
vehicle in the area figure 2.
I. If UP Counter==100 & DOWN Counter==0, then red
light will be shown i.e. no vehicle will be allowed to enter
the area
II. If 100>UP Counter>80 & 20>Down Counter>0, then
yellow light will be shown i.e. vehicles will be told to be
ready to enter the area.
III. If UP Counter<60 & DOWN Counter>40, then green
light will be shown i.e. vehicles will be allowed to enter
the area.

D. Traffic Control Center (TCC)

Traffic Control Center serves as the focal point for the
management of the transportation system in urban area. It
integrates data from a variety of different Sensor sources and
provides a means for operators to manage traffic and inform
the public from a centralized point.
OBUs and RSUs can be seen as nodes of an ad hoc
network. As a result, RSUs may allow OBUs to access the
infrastructure. The main objectives of Vehicle-to-Vehicle
(V2V)/ Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communication are
automatic and fast transmission between vehicles and between
vehicles and road side units. The ad hoc V2V communications
enable the cooperation of vehicles by linking individual
314

Sahil Gupta, VHDL based FPGA implemented advanced traffic light controller system, Journal of Scientific and Technical
Advancements, Volume 1, Issue 3, pp. 313-317, 2015.

International Journal of Scientific and Technical Advancements

ISSN: 2454-1532

pedestrian north will be ON and then dir is incremented by

one and cnt is assigned to zero. So when cnt=00 and dir=01,
the green light in east direction will be ON for few seconds
and all red lights in other directions be ON. Whenever cnt=01
and dir=01 then yellow light (y1) will be ON for few seconds
and when cnt=01 yellow light (y2) and pedestrian east will be
ON and then dir is incremented by one and cnt is assigned to
zero. So whenever cnt=00 and dir=10, the green light in south
direction will be ON for few seconds and all red lights in other
directions will be ON. Whenever cnt=01 and dir=10 then
yellow light (y1) will be ON for few seconds and when cnt=01
yellow light (y2) and pedestrian south will be ON and then dir
is incremented by one and cnt is assigned to zero. So
whenever cnt=00 and dir=11, the green light in west direction
will be ON for few seconds and all red lights in other
directions will be ON. Whenever cnt=01 and dir=11 then
yellow light (y1) will be ON for few seconds and when cnt=01
yellow light (y2) and pedestrian west will be ON and then dir
is assigned to 00 and cnt is assigned to zero. This sequence
repeats and the traffic flow will be controlled by assigning
time periods in all the four directions. Table I specifies the
abbreviations used in TLC state diagram. Labeling for each
lane is done by assigning the direction label in order to
distinguish the outputs from each other with their states. In the
traffic light controller program there will be two inputs namely
clock and reset. When the two variables are 1 then the TLC
will start working. Initially that is when reset is 0 then the
red signal lights in all the directions will be ON and when
reset is 1, then the traffic light controller system will be on
assigning cnt and dir variables to 00 where cnt and dir
respectively represent the states and the four directions in the
state machine.

Fig. 3. Flow chart for diversion of vehicles based on weight.

Table 1. Abbreviations used in TLC state diagram.

Fig. 4. Flow chart for diversion of vehicles based on traffic density.

Now according to the information given by the sensors

information is manipulated by predefined software program
implemented in FPGA and accordingly the time delay of the
traffic light of specific Lane can be changed. Also green
waves will also be created for fast moving of vehicles from
one destination to other. E.g. for morning time traffic let there
be a rush-hour at 8.00 am and there is more traffic from north
to south so the time for green light will be more based on the
data gathered by weight sensors, counters and traffic control
centre. Similarly in evening the time delay of traffic light from
south to north will be more. It all depends on the congestion
on the roads and the weight and number of vehicles. And
heavy and light vehicles are also diverged to their respected
lane by measuring their weight by weight sensors.
V.

Now by the use of sensors we can change the delay from

one state to other i.e. indirectly controlling the time for which
traffic light remain green or red. E.g. if there is a congestion in
traffic on the lane L1 than the timing for green light in lane L1
will be increased so as to pass the traffic through. Similarly
with other lanes up and down counter will count the number of
vehicles and this will tell the condition of the traffic. And the
weight sensors will be diverging heavy and light vehicles to
their respective lanes.

STATE DIAGRAM

The TLC state diagram shown in figure 5 illustrates that

whenever cnt=00 and dir=00,then green light in north
direction will be ON for few seconds and red signal light in all
other directions namely west, south and east will be ON.
When cnt=01 and dir=00 then yellow light (y1) will be ON
for few seconds and when cnt=01 yellow light (y2) and
315

Sahil Gupta, VHDL based FPGA implemented advanced traffic light controller system, Journal of Scientific and Technical
Advancements, Volume 1, Issue 3, pp. 313-317, 2015.

International Journal of Scientific and Technical Advancements

ISSN: 2454-1532

Fig. 7. FPGA Implementation.

VII. OBSERVATIONS

Fig. 5. state diagram.

VI.

As compare to other methods the implementation of traffic

light system using FPGA is cost effective moreover the time
delay can be changed simply by manipulating the software
part. Also as weight and count sensors are also connected to
the FPGA board so the traffic congestion can be measured in
the real time and this information is then used by TCC (traffic
control centre) to control vehicles by the use On-board Units
(OBUs) Road-side Units (RSUs) communicating through
GPS.

HARDWARE IMPLEMENTATION

The state machine is coded using the Hardware

Description Language, VHDL. Spartan-3E trainer kit is shown
in figure 6. Figure 7 shows the FPGA Implementation of TLC.
Using Xilinx ISE tool, this code is dumped into Spartan-3E
FPGA trainer kit and the outputs here we considered are more
than the LEDs on the FPGA.

VIII. CONCLUSION
In this paper we have proposed a new adaptive traffic light
system and a new traffic light green-wave control algorithm
that takes into account the drivers behavior. According to our
approach, it is clear that in this case traffic flow will be
improved by reducing stop number and each cars delay.
Xilinx tool gives the flexibility in verification for the design
with large number of inputs & outputs, also used for easy
implementation of the design into the FPGA Spartan-3E. Also,
to allow the user to assign the time for each traffic light (i.e.
minimum time to be Green), adding more sensors on each
road to count the number of cars in each road and check for
the longer queue to increase the timer for that road. This
method will help reduce congestion on roads and would help
in coping with accidents as the heavy vehicles and light
vehicles will be in different lanes. Resultantly, a solution to a
much critical problem of traffic congestion and fatal accidents
is possible using this system. Thus the proposed system would
make our roads a safer place to travel.

Fig. 6. Spartan-3E.

Weight sensors and Signal lights at each lane have their set
of traffic light signal Red, Yellow, and Green. Operation of
this signal light is similar to common traffic light signal.
Along with these specifications, each lane has sensor of the
corresponding road. The first sensor detects the presence of
vehicles and its weight and the second sensor determines the
volume of the traffic corresponding to that lane by counting
incoming and outgoing vehicles. Through the two sensors, we
will know the expected time for green signal ON and when the
signal light at each lane should be changed to green.

REFERENCES
[1]
[2]

M. Voinescu, A. Udrea, and S. Caramihal, On urban traffic modelling

and control, CEAI, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 10-18, 2009.
C. M. Mwangi, S. M. Kangethe, and G. N. Nyakoe, Design and
simulation of a fuzzy logic traffic signal controller for a signalized

316
Sahil Gupta, VHDL based FPGA implemented advanced traffic light controller system, Journal of Scientific and Technical
Advancements, Volume 1, Issue 3, pp. 313-317, 2015.

International Journal of Scientific and Technical Advancements

ISSN: 2454-1532

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

H. Dong, X. Xiong and X. Zhang, Design and implementation of a realtime traffic light control system based on FPGA, ASEE Zone I
Conference, University of Bridgeport, Bridgpeort, CT, USA, April 3-5,
2014.
[9] A. Mallik, S. Kundu, Md. A. Rahman, An FPGA based semi automated
traffic control system using verilog HDL, Proceeding of the
International
Conference
on
Electrical,
Computer
and
Telecommunication Engineering (ICECTE2012), RUET, Rajshahi-6204,
Bangladesh, 2012.
[10] M. Voinescu, A. Udrea, and S. Caramihai, On urban traffic modelling
and control, Control Engineering and Applied Informatics (CEAI), vol.
11, no. 1, pp. 10-18, 2009.
[11] Rashmi and Anurag Sharma, VHDL based multiple traffic lights
controller, International Journal of Electronics & Communication
Technology (IJECT), vol. 2, issue 3, pp. 259-262, 2011.
[12] W. Wen, A dynamic and automatic traffic light control expert system
for solving the road congestion problem, An International Journal:
Expert Systems with Applications (Elsevier), vol. 34, issue 4, pp. 2370
2381, 2008.

intersection, Proceedings of JKUAT Scientific Technological and

Industrialization Conference, pp. 210-219, 2010.
O. Tomescu, I. M. Moise, A. E. Stanciu, and I. Bro, Adaptive traffic
light control system using ADHOC vehicular communications network,
U.P.B. Sci. Bull., Series D, vol. 74, issue 2, pp. 68-78, 2012.
T. Han, C. Lin, Design of an intelligence traffic light controller (ITLC)
with VHDL Proceedings IEEE Region 10 Conference on Computers,
Communications, Control and Power Engineering, vol. 3, pp. 1749
1752, 2002.
S. Nath, C. Pal, S. Sau, S. Mukherjee, A. Roy, A. Guchhait, and D.
Kandar, Design of an FPGA based intelligence traffic light controller
with VHDL, IEEE International Conference on Radar, Communication
and Computing (ICRCC), pp. 92 97, 2012.
W. M. El-Medany and M. R. Hussain, FPGA-based advanced real
traffic light controller system design, 4th IEEE Workshop on Intelligent
Data Acquisition and Advanced Computing Systems: Technology and
Applications (IDAACS), pp. 100 105, 2007.
A. C. Soh, L. G. Rhung, and H. Md. Sarkan, MATLAB simulation of
fuzzy traffic controller for multilane isolated intersection, International
Journal on Computer Science and Engineering (IJCSE), vol. 02, no. 04,
pp. 924-933, 2010.

[8]

317
Sahil Gupta, VHDL based FPGA implemented advanced traffic light controller system, Journal of Scientific and Technical
Advancements, Volume 1, Issue 3, pp. 313-317, 2015.

International Journal of Scientific and Technical Advancements

ISSN: 2454-1532

318
Sahil Gupta, VHDL based FPGA implemented advanced traffic light controller system, Journal of Scientific and Technical
Advancements, Volume 1, Issue 3, pp. 313-317, 2015.