CASE STUDY -
SMART TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
NAME – AAYUSH GAUTAM
REG NO – RA2211033010099
SECTION – AA2
SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
21CSC309J
Case Study: Smart Traffic Management System
Aim : Smart Traffic Management System for Urban Congestion Control
Theory:
A leading metropolitan city with a population exceeding 10 million faced chronic traffic
congestion and pollution problems. To tackle this, the municipal authority collaborated
with a smart mobility startup to implement a data-driven Smart Traffic Management
System (STMS). The system leveraged IoT sensors, AI-based image processing, and
cloud analytics to monitor and control traffic in real time. Cameras, inductive loops,
and GPS trackers were integrated into traffic lights, public transport, and arterial roads
to collect continuous traffic flow data. The STMS interfaced with emergency services,
public transit apps, and city dashboards to ensure a holistic traffic control mechanism.
Challenges:
The earlier manual traffic system could not cope with dynamic traffic conditions,
resulting in frequent congestion at major junctions. Emergency vehicles were often
delayed due to poor signal control. There were instances of traffic light failures and
inefficiencies due to fixed-timing systems that did not adapt to real-time demand. The
system lacked predictive analytics, resulting in reactive decisions rather than proactive
congestion management. Data silos existed between traffic police, civic authorities, and
transport departments. Citizens faced inconsistent traffic signal timings and lack of real-
time information about road conditions or diversions, leading to frustration and
increased pollution.
In Search of a Solution:
After a surge in complaints and a viral social media outcry over a 3-hour city-wide traffic
jam, the city leadership decided to modernize its infrastructure. The solution had to
enable adaptive signal timing, allow priority-based routing for emergency services,
and provide real-time congestion analytics. It had to integrate data from multiple
stakeholders securely and ensure low-latency decision making. Furthermore, the
architecture needed to be scalable for future integration with autonomous vehicles and
smart parking systems. The system had to comply with government regulations on
public surveillance and data privacy. City authorities demanded a flexible, modular
system that could adapt to sudden traffic spikes, learn from historical data, and respond
instantly to incidents. The system needed to handle real-time analytics at scale,
coordinate multiple junctions, and ensure secure integration with government and
civilian platforms. The architecture had to be resilient, easily maintainable, and
compliant with evolving smart city regulations.
Getting a Solution in Place:
The implementation involved designing a microservices-based architecture deployed
on Microsoft Azure’s IoT and AI stack. Traffic signal control used the State Design
Pattern, enabling dynamic changes in light behavior based on input states from sensors.
The Strategy Pattern was applied to evaluate and switch between congestion mitigation
algorithms (e.g., wave theory vs. shortest queue). Emergency vehicle routing used the
Chain of Responsibility Pattern, ensuring the fastest rerouting path was calculated
using AI. The Observer Pattern notified adjacent junctions when a signal changed,
coordinating regional flow. A Singleton Pattern managed centralized data access to
real-time traffic feeds. External data APIs (like Google Maps and weather forecasts)
were wrapped with the Proxy Pattern to enable caching and secure access. Kafka and
MQTT were used for low-latency streaming, while edge computing at intersections
reduced cloud dependency. A microservices architecture was selected to support
independent scaling of different modules like signal control, emergency routing, and
public dashboards. Edge devices processed real-time sensor data to reduce latency,
while cloud services handled training of AI models for prediction. Kafka ensured
reliable event streaming, and APIs used Proxy and Adapter patterns for data
standardization and security.
Results :
Post-deployment, average commute time across key corridors dropped by 28%, and
emergency vehicle response times improved by 40%. Adaptive signals improved traffic
throughput by 35% during rush hours. Citizen-reported grievances on traffic delays
decreased by over 50%. The system processed more than 3 million sensor signals per day
and scaled seamlessly during festivals and sports events. A real-time public dashboard led
to greater transparency and civic trust. The STMS also reduced overall vehicle idle time
by 22%, contributing to a 15% drop in CO₂ emissions. The city received accolades for
innovation and urban digitization from national planning bodies. The smart system
reduced average travel time and vehicle idle time significantly across key city zones.
Emergency services experienced faster route clearance, and public trust improved due to
visible dashboard updates and fewer delays. Fuel wastage and emissions were cut by
double digits.
Describing the Methods to analyze the complexity of design patterns –
System complexity was analyzed through runtime profiling and architectural evaluation metrics such as coupling,
cohesion, and cyclomatic complexity. Design pattern usage was tested via unit and integration tests under
simulated load. Observability tools tracked how effectively the patterns helped with failure recovery and decision-
making. Comparative evaluations were also conducted to show how chosen patterns outperformed traditional
hardcoded control systems in adaptability and scalability.
