This study details the emerging "Cell Phone Radar" (CPR) technique for monitoring traffic. CPR works by detecting existing cell-phone base-station transmissions reflected by an object's surfaces. From these echoes, the type, speed and position of road users - both vehicles and pedestrians - can be monitored. CPR requires no special equipment on the vehicle. CPR could be used as an alternative to conventional traffic monitoring devices, particularly on roads that are not currently equipped. CPR could also be used to anonymously track individual vehicles for use in applications such as Origin- Destination Matrices, Active Traffic Management and CVHS. The CELLDAR(TM) deployment of CPR is a low risk solution based on off the shelf equipment, including standard mobile phone equipment. Only the signal processing software is bespoke. When a vehicle enters a detection region, cell phone transmissions are reflected by it and are detected at one or more receivers. Each received signal is changed in frequency by a combination of the speed, position, and direction of the vehicle and also by the position of the base station and receiver. This information may be extracted from the signals providing a history of the traffic flow within the detection region. Within the signals received are a number of features that may, given suitable development, be used to determine the type of vehicles that are within the detection region. The most obvious of these are the strength and the frequency width of the reflected signal. More subtle features are the details in the signal and the secondary reflections or multi-path. CPR offers many advantages over existing technologies, including monitoring multiple lanes and/or roads from a single installation, it passively detects vehicles over wide area, it has a minimal impact on infrastructure, and multiple detectors could be networked together. How the emerging CPR concept could assist the needs of transportation and transport policy options is described. Although a military version of the system should be in production in three to five years' time, research and customisation will be required for civilian transport applications. It assesses the CPR concept's potential applications and its suitability for practical use, will examine the business cases for each of these areas in comparison with other technologies, and will investigate how CPR could be deployed, used and operated. It will also identify the most significant practical issues likely to arise and outline how they will be overcome. For the covering abstract please see ITRD E135207.
Abstract