So i am having this project. The system will give priority to emergency vehicles when they get close to traffic lights and when they get close i want to change the state of the traffic lights from red to green but in correct sequence.
I have managed to pull it off but it doesnt work with a real car because the xbees (coordinator on the vehicle and end device on home-made traffic lights) take sometime to communicate which is not enough for the speed of a vehicle approaching traffic lights with lets say an average speed of 60km/h.
The system works like this. There is an arduino on the vehicle which has a GPS shield and an xbee set to COORDINATOR on it. In the program on the arduino it checks if the gps reads coordinates that are saved inside the arduino so it checks against real time coordinates and if they match, the xbee gets to send a message across to the corresponding xbees that are set as end-devices on the traffic lights which again setup is arduino + xbee.
The problem 1 is i need to make a faster connection between the xbees (COORDINATOR - END DEVICE)
Here is the arduino sketch for ARDUINO-GPS-COORDINATOR. Note: GPS Shield is from adafruit and i use their code plus some of mine.
// Test code for Adafruit GPS modules using MTK3329/MTK3339 driver
//
// This code shows how to listen to the GPS module in an interrupt
// which allows the program to have more 'freedom' - just parse
// when a new NMEA sentence is available! Then access data when
// desired.
//
// Tested and works great with the Adafruit Ultimate GPS module
// using MTK33x9 chipset
// ------> http://www.adafruit.com/products/746
// Pick one up today at the Adafruit electronics shop
// and help support open source hardware & software! -ada
#include <Adafruit_GPS.h>
#include <SoftwareSerial.h>
SoftwareSerial mySerial(10, 11);
SoftwareSerial xbee(13,12);
// If using hardware serial (e.g. Arduino Mega), comment out the
// above SoftwareSerial line, and enable this line instead
// (you can change the Serial number to match your wiring):
//HardwareSerial mySerial = Serial1;
Adafruit_GPS GPS(&mySerial);
// Set GPSECHO to 'false' to turn off echoing the GPS data to the Serial console
// Set to 'true' if you want to debug and listen to the raw GPS sentences.
#define GPSECHO true
// this keeps track of whether we're using the interrupt
// off by default!
boolean usingInterrupt = false;
void useInterrupt(boolean); // Func prototype keeps Arduino 0023 happy
void setup()
{
Serial.begin(115200);
Serial.println("Adafruit GPS library basic test!");
xbee.begin(9600);
xbee.println("SoftwareSerial on coordinator working!");
GPS.begin(9600);
// uncomment this line to turn on RMC (recommended minimum) and GGA (fix data) including altitude
GPS.sendCommand(PMTK_SET_NMEA_OUTPUT_RMCGGA);
// uncomment this line to turn on only the "minimum recommended" data
//GPS.sendCommand(PMTK_SET_NMEA_OUTPUT_RMCONLY);
// For parsing data, we don't suggest using anything but either RMC only or RMC+GGA since
// the parser doesn't care about other sentences at this time
// Set the update rate
GPS.sendCommand(PMTK_SET_NMEA_UPDATE_1HZ); // 1 Hz update rate
// For the parsing code to work nicely and have time to sort thru the data, and
// print it out we don't suggest using anything higher than 1 Hz
// Request updates on antenna status, comment out to keep quiet
GPS.sendCommand(PGCMD_ANTENNA);
// the nice thing about this code is you can have a timer0 interrupt go off
// every 1 millisecond, and read data from the GPS for you. that makes the
// loop code a heck of a lot easier!
useInterrupt(true);
delay(1000);
// Ask for firmware version
mySerial.println(PMTK_Q_RELEASE);
}
// Interrupt is called once a millisecond, looks for any new GPS data, and stores it
SIGNAL(TIMER0_COMPA_vect) {
char c = GPS.read();
// if you want to debug, this is a good time to do it!
#ifdef UDR0
if (GPSECHO)
if (c) UDR0 = c;
// writing direct to UDR0 is much much faster than Serial.print
// but only one character can be written at a time.
#endif
}
void useInterrupt(boolean v) {
if (v) {
// Timer0 is already used for millis() - we'll just interrupt somewhere
// in the middle and call the "Compare A" function above
OCR0A = 0xAF;
TIMSK0 |= _BV(OCIE0A);
usingInterrupt = true;
} else {
// do not call the interrupt function COMPA anymore
TIMSK0 &= ~_BV(OCIE0A);
usingInterrupt = false;
}
}
// difference_ratio
float diff_ratio = 0.010;
// COORDINATES INDEX
float coord_lat = 23;
float coord_lon = 23;
uint32_t timer = millis();
void loop() // run over and over again
{
// in case you are not using the interrupt above, you'll
// need to 'hand query' the GPS, not suggested :(
if (! usingInterrupt) {
// read data from the GPS in the 'main loop'
char c = GPS.read();
// if you want to debug, this is a good time to do it!
if (GPSECHO)
if (c) Serial.print(c);
}
// if a sentence is received, we can check the checksum, parse it...
if (GPS.newNMEAreceived()) {
// a tricky thing here is if we print the NMEA sentence, or data
// we end up not listening and catching other sentences!
// so be very wary if using OUTPUT_ALLDATA and trytng to print out data
//Serial.println(GPS.lastNMEA()); // this also sets the newNMEAreceived() flag to false
if (!GPS.parse(GPS.lastNMEA())) // this also sets the newNMEAreceived() flag to false
return; // we can fail to parse a sentence in which case we should just wait for another
}
// if millis() or timer wraps around, we'll just reset it
if (timer > millis()) timer = millis();
// approximately every 2 seconds or so, print out the current stats
if (millis() - timer > 2000) {
timer = millis(); // reset the timer
Serial.print("\nTime: ");
Serial.print(GPS.hour, DEC); Serial.print(':');
Serial.print(GPS.minute, DEC); Serial.print(':');
Serial.print(GPS.seconds, DEC); Serial.print('.');
Serial.println(GPS.milliseconds);
Serial.print("Date: ");
Serial.print(GPS.day, DEC); Serial.print('/');
Serial.print(GPS.month, DEC); Serial.print("/20");
Serial.println(GPS.year, DEC);
Serial.print("Fix: "); Serial.print((int)GPS.fix);
Serial.print(" quality: "); Serial.println((int)GPS.fixquality);
if (GPS.fix) {
//Serial.print("Location: ");
//Serial.print(GPS.latitude, 4); Serial.print(GPS.lat);
//Serial.print(", ");
//Serial.print(GPS.longitude, 4); Serial.println(GPS.lon);
Serial.print("Location (in degrees, works with Google Maps): ");
Serial.print(GPS.latitudeDegrees, 4);
Serial.print(", ");
Serial.println(GPS.longitudeDegrees, 4);
//Serial.print("Speed (knots): "); Serial.println(GPS.speed);
//Serial.print("Angle: "); Serial.println(GPS.angle);
//Serial.print("Altitude: "); Serial.println(GPS.altitude);
//Serial.print("Satellites: "); Serial.println((int)GPS.satellites);
if(GPS.latitudeDegrees + diff_ratio >= coord_lat && coord_lat >= GPS.latitudeDegrees - diff_ratio) {
if(GPS.longitudeDegrees + diff_ratio >= coord_lon && coord_lon >= GPS.longitudeDegrees - diff_ratio){
Serial.println("location OKAY");
xbee.println("K");
}
}
//if((float)GPS.latitude > (home_lat - diff_ratio) && (float)
}
}
}
The important part is where it says if(GPS.fix()) and later on.
And here is the sketch for the traffic light simulation which if it receives the message "K" it will stay to green light until it does not receive it anymore.
#include <SoftwareSerial.h>
SoftwareSerial xbee(3,2);
int greenled = 8; //Led's and pins
int yellowled = 9;
int redled = 10;
int ard_led = 13;
void setup(){
pinMode(greenled,OUTPUT);
pinMode(yellowled, OUTPUT);
pinMode(redled, OUTPUT);
pinMode(ard_led,OUTPUT);
Serial.begin(9600);
xbee.begin(9600);
}
void loop(){
delay(700);
if(xbee.available() > 0 && xbee.read() == 'K' && digitalRead(ard_led) == 0){
//Serial.println("second block");
digitalWrite(redled,HIGH);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(yellowled, HIGH); //Yellow and red on for 2 seconds
digitalWrite(ard_led,HIGH);
}else if(xbee.available() > 0 && xbee.read() == 'K' && digitalRead(ard_led) == 1){
//Serial.println("third block");
blinking_green();
}
else if(!xbee.available() && xbee.read() != 'K' && digitalRead(greenled) == 0){
//Serial.println("first block");
digitalWrite(redled, HIGH);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(yellowled, HIGH); //Yellow and red on for 2 seconds
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(redled, LOW); //Red and Yellow off
digitalWrite(yellowled, LOW);
digitalWrite(greenled, HIGH); //Green on for 5 seconds
delay(3000);
digitalWrite(greenled, LOW); //Green off, yellow on for 2 seconds
digitalWrite(yellowled, HIGH);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(yellowled,LOW);
digitalWrite(redled,HIGH);
} else if(!xbee.available() && xbee.read() != 'K' && digitalRead(greenled) == 1 && digitalRead(yellowled == 0)){
//Serial.println("fourth block");
digitalWrite(greenled,LOW);
digitalWrite(yellowled, HIGH);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(yellowled, LOW);
digitalWrite(redled,HIGH);
digitalWrite(ard_led,LOW);
}
}
void blinking_green(){
digitalWrite(redled, LOW); //Red and Yellow off
digitalWrite(yellowled, LOW);
digitalWrite(greenled,HIGH);
delay(2500);
}
Problem 2: How can i interrupt the traffic lights simulation instantly when it receives a message from a nearby arduino to change the traffic light to green BEFORE it finishes that loop? Because in a real example green and red light would say for over 20 seconds.
Question: Will a faster baud rate on the xbees achieve faster xbee communication?
thank you in advance
You need to change the loop() on your traffic light simulation. Have a variable you use to store the "state" of the light, along with a timer to keep track of when the next state change happens. This way, your loop can also check the XBee serial input every time around.
if (xbee_event_happened()) {
set_leds_off();
timer = millis();
state = STATE_FLASH_GREEN_OFF;
}
switch (state) {
case STATE_FLASH_GREEN_OFF:
if (millis() - timer > 1000) {
set_leds_green();
state = STATE_FLASH_GREEN_ON;
timer = millis();
}
break;
case STATE_FLASH_GREEN_ON:
if (millis() - timer > 1000) {
set_leds_off();
state = STATE_FLASH_GREEN_OFF;
timer = millis();
}
break;
case STATE_RED:
if (millis() - timer > 5000) {
set_leds_green();
state = STATE_GREEN;
timer = millis();
}
break;
case STATE_GREEN:
if (millis() - timer > 3000) {
set_leds_yellow();
state = STATE_YELLOW;
timer = millis();
}
break;
// etc.
}
This just covers the basics, but it shows an important aspect of loop() function design -- it should never run for more than a few milliseconds. Don't have a delay inside of your main loop, track the state of the device and then use logic to decide if the state needs to change on that pass of the loop.
Additionally, use higher baud rates when possible to avoid latency from serial transmissions, get rid of the 700ms delay in your loop, and organize your if/else structure better:
if (xbee.available() > 0) {
character = xbee.read();
if (character == 'K') {
if (digitalRead(ard_led)) {
// second block
} else {
// third block
}
} else if (character == 'X') {
// do something different? Vehicle left area?
}
}