Audience
Adaptive traffic control system for communities
About Siemens SCOOT
SCOOT is a proactive system, meaning that it adjusts traffic signal parameters in real-time to serve traffic that is approaching an intersection. Other systems base adjustments on measurements of departing traffic, meaning timing changes are implemented too late to be fully effective. SCOOT has at its heart an on-line traffic simulation model which tests a range of possible timing changes in real-time and chooses the most effective adjustment. Other systems make changes based on parameter thresholds, such as volumes or arrivals on green. This allows only one possible adjustment and it is not tested for effectiveness in advance. SCOOT fully optimizes cycle length, splits, and offsets on every cycle by making small controlled adjustments. Other systems make larger adjustments at much longer intervals (up to every 10 minutes) and some do not optimize cycle length at all. This makes them far less responsive to rapidly changing traffic conditions.