Optimum control of an intersection for any known sequence of vehicle arrivals.

The principle of dynamic programming is used to determine the optimum control of traffic signals at a single intersection. The method is applied to an intersection having two conflicting approaches on which the arrival pattern of vehicles is arbitrary but predetermined. The method is implemented by a programme called DYPIC (Dynamic Programmed Intersection Control), which is used to establish, in a variety of simple but important traffic situations, an absolute standard of performance against which the merits of other more practical control policies can be judged. The criterion is total vehicle delay.