A real-time Internet of Things system for enhancing cyclist safety

Cyclists are frequently exposed to collision risks at traffic intersections. Internet of Things (IoT) offers promising cost-effective solutions to enhance cyclist safety. This paper presents Intersection Safety Alert System (ISAS), an IoT-driven system designed to detect and alert cyclists of potential hazards at intersections. ISAS uses data from IoT edge devices, including image-vision cameras monitoring intersections and the smartphones carried by cyclists, to assess vehicles as potential hazard sources and generate real-time (online) hazard alerts. It is also envisioned to incorporate historical crash data and traffic density information to generate offline alerts, providing cautions about high-risk intersections. Alerts are delivered to cyclists as audio and visual messages through a smartphone application, enabling them to take preventative measures as they approach intersections. The paper also discusses algorithms used in ISAS for generating the online and offline alerts. ISAS is evaluated through real-world trials over two days with 38 participants. The results demonstrate the system’s ability to generate accurate and timely alerts and its scalability to accommodate varying user volumes.