Smart traffic light with a green corridor for ambulances

The problem

In Amman, an ambulance gets stuck at junctions like any other vehicle, and drivers can't make way because there's no room. With strokes or bleeding, every minute of delay genuinely affects the outcome. Traffic lights also run on fixed timing, giving 45 seconds of green to an empty lane while a packed one stays red. The problem isn't the number of lights but that they don't respond to the actual traffic.

How it works

1. MeasurementInfrared sensors on each lane count vehicles and measure the queue length.
2. AllocationThe controller redistributes green time each cycle according to actual density.
3. Ambulance callA transmitter inside the ambulance broadcasts an encrypted signal over a 200-meter range.
4. Green corridorThe traffic light picks up the call, opens the ambulance's lane, and closes the others.
5. BackAfter the ambulance passes, the light returns gradually to its normal cycle.
6. FollowingAn online dashboard shows the traffic density at each junction and allows manual intervention.

Project features

• The green corridor for ambulances is a life-saving feature — the highlight to present to the committee.
• Priority is granted on an encrypted code, not any signal, so no driver can exploit it.
• An easy, convincing miniature demo: a junction with four lights and an ambulance.
• It combines real-time control systems with IoT.
• It can expand to a network of successive junctions opening a complete corridor.

Expected challenges

These are the main obstacles to expect during the build, laid out clearly so you know them before you start.

• Safety first: any fault must return the light to a safe state (flashing yellow), not green for every lane.
• Misuse must be prevented by encrypting the code, or anyone could open the light.
• Counting vehicles with infrared sensors is affected by direct sunlight and shadows.
• Suddenly cutting a green light is dangerous, so transition timing with a calculated yellow phase is needed.
• Synchronizing several junctions to open a continuous corridor is the hardest part when scaling the project.

The consultation gives you a solution for each one.

Expected committee questions

Prepare your answers in advance: these questions come up often in defenses of similar projects.

1. How is congestion measured on each lane, and how is green time allocated based on it?
2. How does the light recognize an approaching ambulance, and how is the transmitted signal protected from imitation?
3. What happens to the other lanes when the green corridor opens, and how does the light return to normal?
4. How was the system tested — on a physical model or in simulation?

Practice the defense, question by question