Sensors Against Wrong-Way Drivers

The VDE Cosima Prize for the »Ghostbuster« early warning system was already awarded in 2016. The young researchers are now testing their economical sensor concept on the Saarland motorways. And could save some lives with it.

Up to 1,800 wrong drivers are reported per year in Germany alone. Again and again accidents occur, which often end deadly because of the frontal impact. Systems that can help are usually expensive, complex, or brute - such as claws that burst tires even for ambulances and police. And so motorways remain unprotected in many places today. With their solar-powered sensor system, three young researchers from Saarland University are providing a cost-effective solution. It is installed in delineators, which are already at the roadside.

»Our sensor system detects wrong-way drivers and can immediately warn drivers, police, and traffic reports. We can also program further reactions. For example, the road could be closed via a connected guidance system,« explains Julian Neu (25), who developed the system called »Ghostbuster« with his fellow students Daniel Gillo (27) and Benjamin Kirsch (26) during his studies. Their company T-ProTex has its nucleus on campus at the Chair of Micromechanics, Microfluidics, and Microactuators.

Recognize and Warn

An infrared motion sensor continuously detects every movement in the vicinity of around ten to twelve meters of the delineator. When one car approaches, this sensor activates two more on the opposite sides of the delineator. Because the car first passes one sensor and fractions of a second later the other, the system detects the direction in which the vehicle is moving.

It also undoubtedly distinguishes cars from other interferences. A microphone detects sounds; that of the tires on the asphalt is sufficient. The interaction of the sensors is already mature, and the founders have optimized the arrangement and signal processing in many tests. With the new mass data from passing cars on the motorway, they are now refining the algorithms, i.e., the commands that tell the system exactly what to do and when.

Support from the State

After test runs on campus, the founders are now collecting data with their delineators on motorways in Saarland in order to refine the software of their system for practical use. The Ministry of Transport has brought all those responsible in the state, from the road construction office to the traffic control center, and the police, to the same table.

With their prototype, the students won first prize in the Cosima student competition in Munich in 2016. One year later, they took second place in the iCan international competition in Beijing. In June 2017, they received the German Mobility Award of the »Germany - Land of Ideas« initiative and the Federal Ministry of Transport. In 2017, they also successfully applied for an EXIST start-up grant from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.