• Portable BluFax data collection device
• Permanent BluFax data collection device
• Blustats Analysis Software
Off-line BluFax Unit: The off-line device can be readily moved to alternate data collection sites without requiring any permanent attachment or long-term power capability. Off-line units might be used in the vicinity of construction zones, for collection of before-and-after data associated with a particular project or event, evaluation and calibration of other data collection methods and devices, collection of O-D data in support of a specific planning study, etc. The off-line device is battery powered and collected data is recorded on a removable storage device for off-line processing. Battery life has been demonstrated to exceed six days on a 30 amp-hour battery. The 25 Beta units that have been produced and are currently in use are the portable versions of the BluFax equipment. The next generation design significantly enhances power efficiency.
Real-time BluFax Unit: The real-time device is intended for long-term installations that may be associated with ongoing traffic operations and other activities requiring the continuous reporting of traffic flows in real-time. Real-time devices might be installed on the roadways surrounding a sports arena, on freeways where displays of travel times on variable message signs are to be posted, for monitoring traffic impacts of incidents, and on arterials for real-time updates of traffic signal timing. Real-time devices will be solar powered and rely on wireless communication for transmission of real-time data to a location for processing and display. Solar power is readily implemented due to the extremely low power requirements of the BluFax equipment. The real-time units will be available during the first quarter of 2009.
Blustats Analysis Software: A software license for the BLUESTATS traffic data analysis software is provided with each purchase of Traffax equipment. This software has been developed for convenient matching, filtering and displaying of travel times and speeds derived from the TRAFFAX Bluetooth (BLUFAX) units. The analysis software is based on the analytical research
and development performed at the University of Maryland, Center for Advanced
Transportation Technology, and optimized for commercial use.
The BLUSTATS analysis software performs the following functions:
• Loads, archives and process all sensor data in a graphical, user friendly interface
• Provides input for additional attributes associated with the sensor stations as well as matched sensor pairs, referred to as ‘segments’.
• Processes and filters sensor input files to remove anomalies and outliers
• Outputs KML based files for easy review of sensor locations and attributes.
• Matches Bluetooth MAC address between designated pairs of sensor stations, applying robust statistical base filtering for the flagging of outliers.
• Travel time data is statistically summarized in five minute time intervals.
• All data, either from sensor stations or travel time on designated segments can be written to standard comma separated ASCII data files that can be easily imported into spreadsheets and data bases.
• Graphical displays of travel time, speed, and detection rates.
