Pressure Transducers and Traffic Lights

A Look at the Use of Pressure Transducers with Traffic Lights

If the term pressure transducer seems foreign, you’ll be quite surprised to learn you probably interact with them on a daily basis. Pressure transducers play a major role in the functioning of many different technologies, including traffic lights.

How Traffic Lights Function

Contrary to popular belief, most traffic lights do not work on a simple timer. Most use in-roadway sensors or pressure transducers to calculate how many vehicles are at a particular intersection. This is how it works: Looped wires are placed beneath the pavement of an intersection, and when a car passes over it (or rests on it) it disrupts the magnetic field. The disruption is sent to a control box where a computer analyzes the signal. When the pressure transducer signals that there are multiple vehicles at an intersection, the computer chooses to change the light. There are dozens of other factors that affect the equation, but this is a simplified version for understanding how pressure transducers work with traffic lights.

Pressure Transducers

At Group Four Transducers, we sell a number of different pressure transducers which can convert a liquid or gas media into an electrical signal. We offer a number of different styles.

If you have questions about pressure transducers or any of our other products, our team at Group Four is here to help. Give us a call at 800-419-1444 or fill out our online form today!