Wireless roadway monitoring system

The apparatus of 2 further comprising circuitry for adjusting the magnetic-field sensor.

A method for sensing roadway information comprising the steps of:

• (a) installing a sensor beneath a roadway surface, the sensor, when so installed, sensing at least one of (i) vehicles on the roadway passing the sensor, (ii) an average speed of vehicles on the roadway passing the sensor, (iii) types of vehicles on the roadway passing the sensor, (iv) water on the roadway, and (v) ice on the roadway;
• and
• (b) transmitting sensed information by means of periodic wireless broadcasts broadcasting sensed information according to a receiverless protocol that comprises a sparse time-division-multiple-access protocol.

A wireless roadway sensing apparatus comprising:

• a sensor configured to sense at least one roadway condition;
• and
• a wireless transmitter in communication with the sensor, the wireless transmitter being responsive to the sensor and periodically broadcasting sensed information on a communication channel by means of a randomized multiplexing scheme, the multiplexing scheme allowing the channel to be shared with other sensors broadcasting in accordance with the scheme.

A method for sensing roadway information comprising the steps of:

• (a) sensing at least one roadway condition;
• and
• (b) transmitting sensed information on a communication channel through periodic wireless broadcasts by means of a randomized multiplexing scheme, the multiplexing scheme allowing the channel to be shared with other sensors broadcasting in accordance with the scheme.