Public transport operators often struggle to provide a reliable and efficient transport service. A lack of comprehensive real-time operational data is often cited as a major cause for this state of things. In this study, the authors report on the design, implementation and testing of an Internet of Things-based system, named Bus Seating Information Technology system, which dynamically determines vehicle occupancy while the bus is in service. It uses an array of sensors for detecting events in the vehicle: infrared sensors ascertain whether passengers are entering or leaving the bus; force-sensitive resistors facilitate seat-occupancy detection; a Global Positioning System shield in conjunction with a Raspberry Pi microcomputer enables real-time tracking of the bus; and a USB camera connected to the same Raspberry Pi assist in cross-checking and validating the preceding information. The data collected is uploaded to an online IoT platform (thinger.io), through 3G or 4G if available, and can be visualised via an android app as well as through a desktop computer user interface. The planned functions of the system were tested in a 20-seater bus. Results showed that the system can track the vehicle location, as well as vehicle occupancy in real-time in most cases.

中文翻译：

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低成本公交车座位信息技术系统

公共交通运营商经常努力提供可靠和高效的运输服务。通常认为缺乏全面的实时操作数据是造成这种情况的主要原因。在这项研究中，作者报告了基于物联网的系统的设计，实施和测试，该系统名为“公交车座位信息技术系统”，该系统可以动态确定公交车在使用中的车辆占用率。它使用一系列传感器来检测车辆中的事件：红外传感器确定乘客是进入还是离开公共汽车；力敏电阻器有助于检测座椅占用情况；全球定位系统防护罩与Raspberry Pi微型计算机配合使用，可以实时跟踪总线；连接到同一Raspberry Pi的USB摄像头可帮助交叉检查和验证前面的信息。收集的数据通过3G或4G（如果有）上传到在线IoT平台（thinger.io），并且可以通过android应用程序以及台式计算机用户界面进行可视化。系统的计划功能已在20人座的公共汽车中进行了测试。结果表明，该系统可以在大多数情况下实时跟踪车辆位置以及车辆占用情况。