ACS-Lite

A significant portion of traffic delays on arterial routes is the result of outdated or poor
traffic signal timing. ACS Lite is a low cost solution to provide traffic signal timing that
is appropriate for real time traffic conditions. ACS Lite is not for everyone; it was
designed specifically for the closed loop arterial traffic signal system; which is
representative of 90% of the traffic signal systems in the United States.
Benefits
• Low Cost
• Compatible with existing closed loop systems
• Provides real-time signal timing solutions
• Locks in the performance gains of signal retiming
• Easily configured and calibrated
• Developed through a public private partnership
• Proven to be effective and available right now
Development, Testing & Results
ACS Lite is a scaled down version of the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA)
Adaptive Control Software (ACS); developed by FHWA in partnership with Siemens,
University of Arizona and Purdue University. The software is licensed by Siemens and
has been integrated by four traffic signal controller manufactures to operate with their
systems. Field test sites have been completed to validate the operability of ACS Lite with
each of the manufactures control systems. The traffic controller manufactures currently
licensed to integrate the software: Eagle, Econolite, McCain and Peek. Each of the field
test produced positive results relative to the effectiveness of the existing traffic signal
timing.More
How It Works
The ACS Lite software resides on a field hardened CPU that is physically located with
the field master controller. The ACS Lite interacts with intersection controller in the
closed loop to determine traffic flow and signal timing parameters and may provide
updates to the signal timing on a cycle by cycle basis. ACS Lite recognizes and records
trends and shifts in traffic demand to keep the signal timing up to date; reducing the need
for signal retiming.More
Obtaining ACS Lite
If you are interested in deploying an ACS Lite system it is available through the
following vendors: Eagle, Econolite, McCain and Peek. The Federal Highway
Administration Resource Center may also be contacted to obtain training and technical
information about the product. An agency operating a Peek system for example should
contact the Peek vendor, while one using Eagle should contact the Eagle vendor.More
Development, Testing & Results
ACS Lite is a scaled down version of the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA)
Adaptive Control Software (ACS); developed by FHWA in partnership with Siemens,
University of Arizona and Purdue University. The software is licensed by Siemens and is
currently licensed for integration by four traffic signal controller manufactures: Eagle,
Econolite, McCain and Peek. Four field test sites were built to validate the operability of
ACS Lite with each of the manufactures control systems. The results of the field test
appear below; the benefits of the system are relative to how recently the signal timing
was last updated prior to the test.

The Eagle ACS Lite test site was located on State Route 6 in western Houston, Texas.
State Route 6 connects to I-10 on the south and extends beyond George Bush
International Airport to the north. The route incorporated 8 intersections and was last
retimed in the fall of 2004. The benefits included a reduction in delay of over 23 seconds
per vehicle.

Benefits Analysis
State Route 6
Unit Costs:
• Total Delay - $12.10 per hour
• Stops - $0.014 per stop
Fuel Consumed - $0.59 per liter ($2.25 per gallon)

Before After Savings Peak Peak Hours Savings

(per (per (per Hours (all
veh) veh) veh) vehs)

Total 0.01856 0.0121 0.00642 39.16252 $473.87

Delay 4
(hour)

Total 1.7 1.2 0.5 3051.6 $42.72

Stops

Fuel 0.490 0.455 0.035 214.837 $127.71

(Liters)

Peak $644.30
Hours
Benefit

Daily $2,221.72
Benefit

Annual $577,648.12
Benefit

(Source): http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/acs_lite/development.htm

Helpful info to understand ACS-Lite.

Hardware
• Question: Who supplies the ACS-Lite field processor and how much does it cost
and has it been tested to National Electrical Manufacturers Association
(NEMA) TS2 environmental specifications?
Answer: The controller manufacture will supply a hardened field processor that meets
the NEMA TS2 environmental specifications. The cost of the processor will be similar to
the cost of a high-end personal computer (PC).

• Question: Is it possible in the future to have more than 12 intersections without

the Internet Protocol (IP) communications?
Answer: ACS-Lite is capable of supporting more than 12 controllers on a serial
communications channel that is faster than 9600 bits per second (bps).
Software
• Question: Are the algorithms and software developed with FHWA funding
readily available? If so, where?
Answer: The software will be available through the participating traffic signal controller
manufacturers: Siemens, Econolite, Peek, and McCain.
• Question: How does ACS-Lite handle incidents?
Answer: Acs-Lite handles incidents by modifying the splits and offsets of the traffic
pattern (and in the future - cycle time) to adapt to the increases and decreases in traffic
flows on the facility it is managing. Detector diagnostics/failure conditions are the
responsibility of the controller software (e.g., stalled vehicle in a left-turn bay).