Abstract

Electric vehicles are increasingly being integrated with intelligent control technologies to improve automation and road safety. Traffic signs provide important information to road users, and a vehicle capable of recognizing these signs can automatically adjust its operating behavior. This paper presents a low-cost prototype for controlling the speed of an electric vehicle according to predefined traffic signs using an ESP32-CAM. The proposed system combines an ESP32-CAM for image capture and traffic-sign recognition, a NodeMCU for control or communication functionality, an L293D motor driver for motor interfacing, and a BO DC motor representing the vehicle drive motor. Four traffic-sign classes are considered: START, STOP, SPEED LIMIT 20, and SPEED LIMIT 60. Based on the detected sign, the controller generates a corresponding motor command. The START sign initiates motor operation, the STOP sign stops the motor, while the two speed-limit signs select lower and higher PWM control levels, respectively. PWM is used to regulate the motor through the L293D driver. The proposed prototype demonstrates the integration of camera-based traffic-sign recognition with embedded motor control using economical and easily available components. The system is intended primarily as an educational and research prototype and provides a foundation for future development involving additional traffic signs, speed feedback, obstacle detection, GPS-based speed zones, and fail-safe vehicle control.