The Smart Traffic Light is a tech-based solution to manage traffic at junctions.

It changes traffic light according to the volume of traffic and helps manage traffic congestion better.

Discover

Refer to the first booklet Discover in the Solve Ninja Techno Kit for information on the components available with the Solve Ninja Techno Kit.

Things you will need

• Solve Ninja Techno Kit which will contain

  • Solution Box with PCB and acrylic cover
  • Power adapter
  • USB cable
  • On board distance sensor
  • On board multicolour LED
  • 4 pin connecting wire

• Additional materials

  • Electrical wire and sockets for extension

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  Investigate

  Questions you need to ask

  Get data. Examples:

  • How does the distance sensor work?
  • What are the relevant units of measurement?
  • How far away should the object/vehicle be (from the SNT kit) for the traffic light to switch on? What is the distance sensor value for that?
  • Where will the SNT kit be located in a traffic junction and how will the object interact with the Solution Box?

  What are the things you need to learn about the user? Examples:

  • Are there times during the day when there is less traffic at the junction?
  • Do vehicle drivers follow the traffic signal rules at the junction?
  • What is the main problem faced by the user with respect to using the traffic light?
  • Do the users think that having a smart traffic light will make them follow traffic signal lights better?

  What are the things you need to think about to solve the problem? Examples:

  • Why is it a problem?
  • Is your goal to encourage the user to follow the traffic signal rules, or to make traffic movement easier and faster?
  • What are the reasons and scenarios when this will fail?

  This will help you decide what output device to use, for example-

  • buzzer with an annoying beeeep when the lights are about to change

  Refer to the second booklet Investigate in the Solve Ninja Techno Kit for information on which Input sensors and Output devices to use.

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  Solve

  Refer to the third booklet Solve in the Solve Ninja Techno Kit for information on making connections and Arduino IDE.

  Steps to follow

  1. Take the Solution Box from the Solve Ninja Techno Kit.
  2. Connect the distance sensor to the port on the PCB of the solution box using a 4 pin connecting wire.
  3. Connect one end of the USB cable to Arduino and other to Computer/laptop.
  4. Plug in one end of the power adapter to the DC jack, and the other end to a power socket.

  You will need a 9V 1A power adapter for using this kit. It will not work with the USB cable alone.

  5. Switch on the Solution Box.

  6. Open Arduino IDE on computer/laptop.

  7. Download, Copy, Paste code from here to the Arduino IDE.

  • Click here for the code

  8. Then Check for Tools → Board → Port in the IDE.

  9. Compile and Upload the code.

  10. Disconnect USB cable.

  11. Switch off the Solution Box.

  12. Switch on the Solution Box.

  13. Test by holding out your hand/ any opaque object and unblocking the distance sensor. The multicolour LED should glow green when the object is close enough, glow yellow when the object is not close enough, and glow red when the object is far.

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  Share

  Refer to the fourth booklet Share inside the Solve Ninja Techno Kit to know how you can share your solution.

  • Locally: Once you install the solution in a place, test how a potential user interacts with the smart traffic light. Talk to them about the solution and learn what they think of it.
    • Do they think this is a useful solution to the traffic signal problem they face? Why/ why not?
  • Globally: Share your solution on the Solve Ninja App, and inspire 5 of your friends to take similar action. How can you scale this prototype of your solution and install it in an actual traffic signal junction?