SmartSIGN S2X - Development of intelligent road signage

Road accidents are a civilizational phenomenon that results from the mass circulation of vehicles on public roads.

In its causes are four interrelated factors: the human, the vehicle, the infrastructure and the environment. In road infrastructure, vertical traffic signs are of particular importance. In fact, a significant part of accidents results from drivers not seeing, or ignoring, traffic signs, particularly in adverse weather conditions or due to driver distraction. For this reason, in recent years, algorithms have been developed for processing images captured by cameras installed in vehicles, which allow the recognition of signals and transmit this information to drivers. However, one of the challenges in the development of these systems is their dependence on adverse weather conditions that make it difficult, or even impossible, to recognize a vertical signal through these images. Thus, this project aims to overcome the limitations of these more current solutions through the development of "active/intelligent" traffic signs that, in addition to their visual content, ensure, through communication independent of weather conditions, the reception of the respective information by users, drivers or others.

To this end, the consortium created between the company S.N.S.V. and the Politécnico de Leiria aims to develop a technological solution - SmartSIGN S2X - which will involve disruptive developments in three essential areas: in the active vertical signals themselves, which should incorporate modules for transmitting information by radio frequency; in communications and the respective protocols, which should allow adaptation to wireless communication technologies and protocols between components and users of the public road that are being harmonized at European level; the computer application for managing incoming data communications and, through a user interface platform, allows the effective communication of the respective vertical signal information.