Traficon Insider Magazine 19 - October 2012

INSIDER

The Big Roll OutTraficon Announces Exciting New Product Launches

The Evidence is ClearTraficon launches advanced ANPR camera, EYE-D.

Five Imaging Trends That Will Shape the Future of ITSInterview with Traficon innovators Wouter Favoreel and Michael Deruytter.

Streamlining Traffic in the City of KingsTraficon improves traffic flows in Lima, Peru.

News and stories from Traficon International / October 2012

We have something new in Traficon. Something with real stopping power that we are very excited about. And we’re showing it for the first time at the ITS World Congress in Vienna. But don’t worry if you are reading this after the event or if you couldn’t make it to the show. Just read about it on page 4. Enjoy.

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The Insider October 2012

Content

PublisherTraficon International nv Vlamingstraat 198560 WevelgemBelgium—www.traficon.com

Managing editorKristof Maddelein

Art direction and lay-outGutzandGlory (www.gutzandglory.be)

Image creditsWikimedia CommonsGetty ImagesucuAlong Photography (www.ucualong.com/photography)iStockPhotoRachel RidingsPSD Graphics

SubscriptionsSubscribe to Insider at www.traficon.com/insider

For more [email protected]

All rights reserved. No part of this pu-blication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher. All marks and trademarks are the pro-perty of their respective owners.

A Safe Trip to the Seventh Wonder

The Evidence is Clear

Five Imaging Trend That Will Shape the Future of ITS

Kunshan City on the Rise

Walking in the Light

Streamlining Traffic in the City of Kings

Take It to the Bridge

Incident Detection on the Move

Safely Crossin’ in the USA

Making Room for Trucks

All Is Well in the Poly Pipe

2 →

4 →

6 →

8 →

10 →

12 →

15 →

16 →

17 →

18 →

20 →

Celebrating 20 years of Traficon makes you look back on what we have achieved—and it makes you think of the people we have done business with, both within and outside Traficon.

It all boils down to the dedica-tion of people eager to make the best product and the network of people who bring it to the end customer. Not only the technology, but above all things the people and the long lasting relations make the difference with other players in the market.

Establishing relations

As engineers, we all like to con-centrate on the technology because that’s the part we master best. It becomes much more exciting when emotions get involved. Sales people know this very well: establishing a relation with partners and customers is not only about a product.

Internally as well, a team that can openly disagree and that respects

Long-lasting Relations

other opinions can progress much faster to the product the market needs. Therefore, I strongly believe that Traficon’s success depends even more on how we treat our own people, our partners and our customers, than on the technology we bring to the traffic market.

Making friends

Over all these years, we have made friends all over the world and we’ve stood by our commitment to deliver them what we promised: Trafi-con will bring you safer and more fluid traffic. In this issue, we want to share some of the stories of our long-lasting relationships.

Our customers really appreciate our dedication (which they are entitled to). We intend to bring more excellent products to the market in the future and, hopefully, we’ll generate many more stories which we all can tell our grandchildren one day.

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A Safe Trip to the Seventh Wonder

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In August 2012, India’s longest access-controlled road—the Yamuna Expressway—was opened for com-muters. It is a dual carriageway, with three wide lanes in each direction, leading from New Delhi to Agra over a 165-kilometer stretch of concrete. And it features an all-inclusive traffic management system, commissioned by transportation specialist Efkon, and advanced automatic incident de-tection technology from Traficon.

“Going from New Delhi to Agra

used to be quite an exhausting jour-ney”, according to Jeevit Vashishtha, business development manager for Traficon India. “It used to take at least five hours to reach Agra, not taking into account the many traffic jams. With the new Yamuna Expressway, travel time has been reduced to two hours.”

The main objective of this ex-pressway is to minimize travel time between the two cities for passenger and freight traffic, and to relieve traffic congestion on the National Highway

The famous Taj Mahal building, located in Agra, India, has recently come closer to the country’s national capital. So close that Delhiites can now reach it in a smooth, two-hour drive. Traficon technol-ogy makes sure travelers make it to the seventh wonder safely. →

Traffic cameras equipped with Traficon’s VIP-T incident detection system are monitoring the expressway for accidents or any irregularity that might occur.

2 (which runs through the cities of Faridabad, Ballabgarh and Palwal) and Old Grand Trunk Road (National Highway 91).

Thanks to Traficon, the Yamuna Expressway will not only provide commuters with a smooth journey, but also a safe one. “Traffic cameras equipped with Traficon’s VIP-T inci-dent detection system are monitoring the expressway for accidents or any irregularity that might occur,” com-ments Jeevit Vashishtha. “Our VIP-T

technology can capture real-time information about stopped vehicles, fallen objects, pedestrians, inverse di-rections and ‘under speed’ motorists. This information can then be distrib-uted to variable message signboards or to the traffic management center or security services. By informing motorists as well as the road authori-ties about possible incidents in time, secondary accidents can be avoided and the appropriate security measures can be taken.”

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→ Jeevit Vashishtha,

Business Develop-

ment Manager for

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New Delhi to Agra

over a 165-kilometer

stretch of concrete.

By informing motorists and road authorities about possible incidents in time, secondary accidents can be avoided.

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ANPR CAMERA BY TRAFICON

The Evidence is Clear

Traficon launches advanced ANPR camera, EYE-D.

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“At the 2012 edition of Intertraffic Amsterdam, Traficon already an-nounced the acquisition of SUMIT srl Ltd, a UK-based provider of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology,” comments Dieter Cosaert, Traficon product manager. “Now Traficon will grab the oppor-tunity of the ITS World Congress in Vienna to announce its first integrated ANPR camera to the public.”

“EYE-D addresses a wide range of applications, including red light enforcement, automatic tolling, urban congestion charging, black/white list applications and travel time predic-tion,” Dieter Cosaert explains.

Widest detection range

Traficon’s EYE-D camera is equipped with powerful infrared illu-mination, which enables it to monitor two lanes simultaneously up to a range of 60 meters during day- and night-time. The EYE-D has a very powerful Optical Character Recognition (OCR) engine, and a vast library of worldwide

•Detects on 2 lanes, up to 60m distance•Powerful recognition software•Worldwide license plate library•Freedom of positioning•Easy to set up & configure•Expandable functionality

IN A NUTSHELL

Traficon’s EYE-D offers an accurate and versatile ANPR solution.

Traficon is pleased to announce EYE-D, a powerful Automatic Number Plate Rec-ognition (ANPR) camera that automatical-ly recognizes license plates from all over the world with the highest accuracy. →

One of the strong points of the EYE-D camera, is the possibility to integrate additional functionality, next to the ANPR application.

license plates and alphabets. Many ANPR cameras fail to de-

tect correctly when a license plate has been captured under a certain angle. In contrast, Traficon’s EYE-D makes use of a very efficient de-skewing algorithm, which will auto-rotate the detected number plate and align it so an accurate detection becomes possible. This gives installers more freedom to position the camera where they see fit.

Do more with one camera

“One of the strong points of the EYE-D camera, is the possibility to integrate additional functionality, next to the ANPR application,” comments Dieter Cosaert. This can be done on the overview camera which is also inte-grated into the EYE-D’s housing, next to the actual ANPR camera. “By adding functionality on one camera—incident detection for example—fewer cameras are needed to do the same job, which can save your budget considerably.”

The Big Roll Out

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Five Imaging Trends That Will Shape the Future of ITS

Image processing for traffic detection and monitoring applications is evolving at fast pace. We picked the brains of Traficon innovators Wouter Favoreel (Research & Development Director) and Michael Deruytter (Product Manager) to see which imaging trends are on the horizon. →

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3 → 3D Time-of-FlightA Time-of-Flight Camera (ToF camera) detects dis-

tance based on the speed of light, measuring the time-of-flight of a light signal between the camera and the subject for each point of the image. Time-of-flight cameras are able to measure the distances within a complete scene with one shot and are ideally suited to be used in real-time applica-tions. “Time-of-flight has already been successful in the gaming and automotive industry. Now that the technology is moving into maturity, it is ready to enter new markets, such as traffic monitoring,” comments Wouter Favoreel. “We think time-of-flight can be successful with short-range detection and with detection applications that require con-siderable accuracy and depth. Counting of vulnerable road users might be one of those applications, but we also see a future for time-of-flight technology in the classification of vehicles for tolling applications.”

5 → High resolution Bigger resolutions are conquering the mobile phone

and other industries. The security and traffic monitoring markets are following this trend, and this will certainly have an impact on video detection technology. “To name but one result: high resolutions make it possible to replace the camera’s mechanical zoom by a digital one,” Wouter Favo-reel says. “This means less moving parts to worry about, a more compact product design and, last but not least, a more cost-effective product.”

4 → StereovisionIn fact another type of sensor fusion, stereovision

converts two-dimensional images into three-dimensional information. “For traffic detection purposes, such informa-tion can be useful as it enables us to distinguish between real objects and irrelevant background information, such as shadows and reflections,” comments Michael Deruytter. “Basic monovision detection algorithms that use motion detection or background segmentation lose the object after a certain amount of time, whether that be a person or a vehicle,” Deruytter continues. “In contrast, stereovision manages to detect non-moving objects more efficiently. Traficon has already successfully applied this technology with the detection of waiting pedestrians. We are now also investigating the detection of parked trucks with the same technology.”

1 → Thermal ImagingThermal imaging makes use of temperature differ-

ences between objects to produce a clear image. “Video-based traffic detection has proven its success over the past decades, although it obviously has limitations,” comments Wouter Favoreel. “Think of night conditions for example. Thermal imaging allows addressing new detection applica-tions, which were previously impossible with traditional visual video detection.”

Traficon recently introduced its new VIP BIKE detec-tion board, which offers accurate bike detection on thermal cameras. Traficon’s VIP BIKE board analyzes images from thermal cameras in order to detect bicycles approaching or waiting at the intersection.

2 → Sensor FusionSensor fusion is the combination of different sen-

sor technologies. The combination makes it possible to address new detection applications, other than the usual applications when these technologies are used individually. Traficon has already been applying sensor fusion in several of its products.

A recent example is TrafiRadar, which combines video- and radar-based vehicle presence detection. “With this product, a camera provides accurate detection infor-mation on vehicle presence per lane at the stop bar, while the integrated radar has a wider detection footprint, and is very efficient in detecting vehicles in the so-called dilemma zone,” comments Wouter Favoreel. “In other words: it’s a very successful collaboration of two types of sensors.”

Open InnovationThe traffic imaging market is moving fast.

How is Traficon handling this? Wouter Favoreel: “Traficon is keeping abreast with the latest tech-nologies, for sure. However, it is just impossible to excel in every technology that is out there. That is why we nurture a culture of open innova-tion at Traficon. This means that we are collabo-rating with the very best parties to deliver added value to every product we release.”

→ Wouter Favoreel,

Research & Development Director

→ Michael Deruytter,

Product Manager

8


Kunshan City on the Rise

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Kunshan City, located in the Yangtze River Delta, neighbors the international city of Shanghai to the east, and the historic and cultural city of Suzhou to the west. In total, the City covers an area of 921 square kilometers.

Kunshan is currently regarded as one of the most economically suc-cessful county-level administrations in China and it ranked first in the “25 Best County-level Cities in China” study by Forbes China in 2010. This city on the rise is now also witnessing an increasing vehicle possession rate, especially private cars. Combine that with strong economic development in the old town, and you get a clear discrepancy between the city road network capacity and traffic demand. Nowadays, traffic in the old town is always saturated during morning and

evening rush hours.

Alleviating arterial roads

To alleviate the traffic pressure effectively and

reinforce urban traffic management, the

government and traffic police have been carrying out construction works of an Ur-ban Road Intel-ligent Transpor-tation System

When the economic life flourishes, so does traffic demand. This is exactly what Kunshan City, China, has been experienc-ing in recent years. In order to cope with the increasing traffic congestion, Kunshan city authorities are now relying on Trafi-con’s vehicle presence sensor TrafiCam to keep the traffic flowing. →

219 TrafiCam x-stream units have been installed to collect traffic data of incoming vehicles at intersections.

in a planned and step by step manner since 2009. In 2012, the optimal signal control system has arrived into the implementation stage.

The project aims at solving congestion on arterial roads including Chaoyang, Kuntai, Tongfeng, Bailu, Qianjin, Changjiang, Hexing and Zhenchuan Road.

Traffic data

In this project, 219 Traficon TrafiCam x-stream units have been installed to collect traffic data of in-coming vehicles at intersections. The data is being sent to a control centre via a wireless transmission every 30 seconds. The control system calculates results based on this data and as a result provides an optimal control strategy through which traffic controllers can alleviate the traffic pressure.

Covering three to four lanes, the TrafiCam x-stream sensors have been installed at existing road infrastruc-tures, such as road signs, road lighting poles, and traffic light poles.

Value

With this traffic management project, Kunshan city is playing a pioneering role in the region. Also, the city is promoting intelligent traffic management technology for urban environments that will undoubtedly set an example for many other Chinese cities that are coping with traffic congestion.

Kunshan relies on TrafiCam to keep the traffic flowing.

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Walking in the Light

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Pedestrian crosswalks have been a safety bottleneck ever since they were invented. This is illustrated by the many accidents that still occur at crosswalks every year, some of which are fatal. To combat this problem, Tra-ficon now comes with an integrated pedestrian safety solution, combining its field-proven pedestrian presence video sensors C-Walk and SafeWalk with on-road warning lights from LED manufacturer 3i Traffic. The integrat-ed solution called Safe-2-Walk makes use of pre-defined detection zones that activate on-road markers along a zebra crossing when a pedestrian is in range.

Warning lights for driver aware-ness

In every community there are busy pedestrian crosswalks—near schools, malls, business parks, hospi-tals, recreation centers and retirement homes. Independent studies have shown that the reason why drivers do not yield to pedestrians on these crosswalks may simply be that the drivers have not seen them. Flashing in-pavement lights along and towards the crosswalks will dramatically in-crease the likelihood that drivers will notice pedestrians and at the same time increase the driver yield behav-ior. As such, they are very effective in avoiding accidents and saving lives.

The on-road LED markers from the Safe-2-Walk solution provide a high-contrast warning system both night and day. The key to its success is wireless power. The absence of wired connections means no corrosion, giving the lights a longer life expec-tancy than wired units. In addition, the markers are free of the dangers of sparks or electrocution, making them safer than wired lights. The units are faster to install and the system is easier to maintain than traditional lighting. The Safe-2-Walk system can be powered from the mains or with solar panels.

Accurate video detection

In fact, Traficon’s pedestrian

Flashing in-pavement lights along and towards the crosswalks are very effective in avoiding accidents and saving lives.

C-Walk• Detection of crossing

pedestrians

• Pedestrian detection at intersections and mid-block crossings

SafeWalk• Detection of pedestrians

waiting to cross the road

• Detection of approaching pedestrians

Safe-2-Walk• One or more SafeWalk

or C-Walk pedestrian detection sensors

• Combined with on-road LED markers

detection technology works as ‘a virtual push button’: as the pedestrian approaches the curbside he or she is automatically detected by the camera, which activates the on-road markers so they can safely cross the roadway.

A lot of today’s crosswalks warn-ing light systems operate continuous-ly. They are not dynamic, and there-fore not very efficient in enhancing the driver’s awareness. “Traficon’s Safe-2-Walk system is dynamic, be it in a passive way, because it is not meant to be noticed by the crossing pedestrian,” comments Michael Deruytter.

“This is intentional. The on-road illumination has actually been designed to be noticed by approaching motorists, not as much by crossing pedestrians. The result is that pedes-trians will not as easily be tempted to indulge in irresponsible or reckless crossing behavior. In fact, they still need to cross the street with caution and at their own discretion, just as would be the case without any warn-ing light system.”

Multiple lanes

Traficon’s pedestrian detection sensors have proven to be of high value in the case of multiple lanes. Some-times a car will give way to a pedes-trian on the first lane, while another car is approaching on the second lane. To that second vehicle, it is not always clear why the first car is stopping, also because the stopping car is ob-structing the view to the pedestrians entering the crosswalk. This reduced visibility of pedestrians causes seri-ous risks of crashes. With Traficon’s Safe-2-Walk solution, pedestrians are given the visibility they need to make it across safely.

Traficon’s Pedestrian Safety SolutionsAn Overview

The Big Roll Out

PART OF On-road warning lights activated by Traficon’s video detection sensors enhance pedestrian safety and mobility.

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Streamlining Traffic in the City of Kings

The city of Lima, Peru, is taking extensive measures to tackle its prob-lem of heavy traffic congestion and pollution. As part of the solution, Lima city authorities recently called upon Traficon to help them improve urban traffic flows. →

© Rachel Ridings

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Although Lima can boost a rich colonial architecture, and a wealthy historical and cultural past, it is not the typical hotspot for the average foreign traveler and tourist. Unknown and unloved, the city makes foreigners think of urban chaos and traffic congestion. This is undeserved. Whereas, five to ten years ago, Lima might have come across loud and chaotic, the city has now shaped up to be-come a bustling, more modern and cleaner place to stay.

Traffic congestion

This is not to say that Lima indeed has some serious traffic problems to cope with. Traffic congestion is still a daily nuisance for commuters. For many, navigating around the city can be a truly nerve-racking and time-consuming experience. Local economy also faces the consequences, as productivity is seriously hampered. Last but not least, traffic pollution poses a serious health risk to the city’s inhabitants.

City authorities are well aware of the problem, and are taking appropriate measures to free up the city’s traf-fic situation. Investments in public transport include an expansion of the city’s rapid bus transport system, the Metropolitano, as well as an expansion of the city’s electric train line, the Tren Eléctrico. Both measures are intended to increase mobility of the daily Lima commuter.

Still, this will not be enough. Peruvian incomes are expected to rise within the next few years, which means that more and more people will be able to buy their first car. According to Tráfico Lima, a citizen’s group that works to reduce traffic accidents and environmental damage, this trend will also have an impact on Lima’s traffic.

Intelligent traffic technology

With this trend in mind, it is clear that Lima’s road in-frastructure required the appropriate attention. In an effort to further optimize the city’s road traffic, Lima authorities installed a new traffic control center in 2011. The centre was built to monitor and optimize traffic along the city’s main streets and avenues. In total, the control centre inte-grates a new traffic light network at 218 road intersections, featuring TrafiCam video detection sensors. Thanks to Traficon’s vehicle presence sensors, vehicle density levels can be monitored, determining the peaks and troughs in the day’s traffic, which in turn allows the city’s control centre to regulate the traffic lights’ green waves.

The integration of the TrafiCam units into the traffic light network was performed by ITS integrator SICE. In total, the company installed some 618 video detection sen-sors in the main avenues of Lima. Both Traficon’s TrafiCam vehicle presence sensor and the TrafiCam x-stream vehicle presence sensor with streaming video were chosen for the project. →

Lima suffers from a congestion problem that city authorities are determined to resolve.

© Rachel Ridings

© Rachel Ridings

Lima’s traffic light network, including 218 road intersections, now features TrafiCam video detection sensors.

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Broad functionality

Next to the regulation of traffic lights, Traficon’s video sensors are also deployed for access control, calculation of vehicle occupancy and for the calculation of queue lengths.

“Due to the extended functionality, the TrafiCam and TrafiCam x-stream sensors proved to be the most advanced technology in the field,” SICE representatives say. “The fact that all images and video captured by the sensors are sent to the control center for visual check by the operators is an invaluable asset.”

Challenges

On average, Lima’s traffic light network is around 25 years old. A challenge? Not according to SICE representa-tives: “The link with the TrafiCam sensors was established without any problems. What’s more, the Traficon sensors are very easy to install and require very little configuration. Add to this the quick support we got from Traficon and we have a very good candidate for future projects of similar caliber.”

Hope for the future

Do not always believe the travel guides. Despite the dreary city image that lives in the minds of many foreign travelers, Lima is still a place worth visiting. And with the steady efforts of the city authorities for the improvement of public and road transport, the city might still be experienc-ing smoother and safer traffic in the near future.

“We are confident that Traficon technology will make a difference,” SICE comments. “After all, the purpose of the entire project was to reduce traffic accidents, reduce delays, make traffic smoother and the environment cleaner. It might be too early now to present definite results, but we hope to that city authorities will be able to do that soon.”

A Unique Sensor Family

TrafiCam and TrafiCam x-stream provide detection and monitoring of moving and sta-tionary vehicles at signalized intersections. Via detection outputs, vehicle presence informa-tion is transmitted to the traffic controller so that signal timing can be adjusted dynamically, resulting in reduced waiting time, improved traffic flow and less pollution.

TrafiCam x-stream is even more unique because of its IP-addressability and its on-board compression, thus providing high quality streaming video. This above-ground sensor allows streaming video at full frame rate via Ethernet for both system and traffic monitoring. So users can configure, view and control the system both on-site and remotely creating the possibility for active intersection management right from their desk.

Traficon currently has a worldwide installed base of more than 35,000 TrafiCam and TrafiCam x-stream units.

TrafiCam units monitor intersections and feed their video data back to the control center.

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Automatic Incident Detection (AID) not only keeps tunnels and highways safe. Traficon’s VIP incident detection mod-ules are also chosen by bridge opera-tors worldwide to keep the traffic flowing smoothly and safely. One New Zealand bridge operator recently renewed its con-fidence in Traficon after having enjoyed more than ten years of worry-free opera-tion: Auckland Harbour Bridge. →

This year, Auckland Harbour Bridge was again equipped with new VIP modules. Already in 2001, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) decided to equip 17 traf-fic cameras with VIP-D detectors, for the purpose of traffic flow monitoring and data collection. With the renewal of the CCTV system, it was time to update the VIP technology with the most up-to-date processing power and detection algorithms.

“Bridge decks and structures usually do not allow for saw cutting, which is necessary to install permanent inductive loops,” comments Nico Verstraete, International Business Development Manager at Traficon. “That is why above-ground video detectors are an ideal safety solution for bridges. We are glad that a happy customer like Auck-land Harbour Bridge again realizes the added value of the Traficon system.”

The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane motor-way bridge over the Waitemata Harbour, joining St Marys Bay in Auckland with Northcote in the former North Shore City. It is part of State Highway 1 and the Auckland North-ern Motorway. It is the second-longest road bridge in New Zealand, and the longest in the North Island. The bridge has an estimated capacity of 180,000 vehicles per day.

The bridge makes use of a “tidal flow” system, where the traffic direction of the two centre lanes can be altered by concrete barriers in order to provide an additional lane for peak period traffic. With this in mind, Auckland Bridge also chose Traficon’s FLUX management software. With the moveable barriers on the bridge, the VIP detector configu-rations can be adapted via FLUX depending on the number of lanes used.

Take It to the Bridge

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As a new member of Traficon’s renowned VIP detection board family, VIP-PTZ has been designed to add automatic incident detection to pan-tilt-zoom cameras in order to improve road safety and mobility. VIP-PTZ is a cost-effective and reliable solution that combines the benefits of video-based incident detection with state-of-the-art video streaming and serial communications for camera control.

Product manager Eddy Vermeu-len explains what makes this product so interesting. “Traditional video detection solutions have difficulties handling the changing directions or fields of view that are typical of PTZ cameras. The Traficon VIP-PTZ detector board tackles this issue very efficiently, because it manages to ana-

Incident Detection on the Move

Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) cameras enable road operators to watch traffic and road infra-structure from different camera positions and various angles. Now Traficon comes with a new incident detection solution that has been specifically designed for PTZ cameras. →

Application Areas• Highway incident detection

• Queue monitoring

• Hard shoulder monitoring

Functionality• Queue detection: detect traffic density in

a global field of view

• Automatic Incident Detection: automatically detect stopped vehicles on the road and / or hard shoulder

• Video encoder: video streaming over IP network using H.264 / MPEG-4 compression

• Serial server: remote control of PTZ cameras over IP network

• Digital input & output: remote inputs and control of third party infrastructure over IP network such as warning signs or VMS panels

VIP-PTZ allows for automatic incident detection in any random position of PTZ cameras.

VIP-PTZ

As seen on Traficon TV

In a Nutshell

www.youtube.be/traficontvSearch channel for “VIP-PTZ”

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lyze the video from a Pan-Tilt-Zoom camera and automatically detect the road and traffic. This allows for automatic incident detection in any random position of such cameras.”

Traficon’s VIP detector boards are improving safety and efficiency on highways, bridges and in tunnels all around the world. Incidents can be identified very soon, avoiding further secondary accidents and minimizing traffic delays by shortening service intervention times. The new VIP-PTZ board is an ideal solution to better support traffic op-erators with automatic incident detec-tion. It can also be used to monitor the hard shoulder more efficiently and reduce congestion by opening the hard shoulder during peak hours.

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VIP-BIKE for bike detection and counting on thermal cameras

The new VIP-BIKE detection board analyzes images from thermal cameras in order to detect bicycles approaching or waiting at the inter-section on multiple lanes. VIP-BIKE provides four contact closures or serial information to the traffic light controller to indicate presence of bikes: one for thru lanes, one for left turn lanes, one for right turn lanes and one for dedicated bike lanes. VIP-BIKE also provides bike counting information.

Traficon’s VIP-BIKE solution is based on the company’s proven and tested VIP range of video image pro-cessors for vehicle presence detection and data collection.

“Vulnerable road users in general, and bicyclists more specifically, just need more time than motorists to make it across the intersection,” com-ments Bill Klyczek, Vice-President at Traficon USA, LLC. “By detecting bicyclists at signalized intersections, we can increase their green time when necessary, and as a result, make it much safer for them to make it across.”

Traficon recently introduced two new products to the US market that are meant to make intersections safer to cross for bicyclists and motorists. A first innova-tion is Traficon’s VIP-BIKE detection board, which aims at improving safety and effi-ciency for bicyclists at signalized intersec-tions. A second innovation is the TrafiRadar vehicle presence sensor, which combines a video sensor and a radar detector. →

Safely Crossin’ in the USA

TrafiRadar combining video- and radar-based vehicle presence detection

The new TrafiRadar vehicle pres-ence sensor is a combination of a video sensor with radar, offering the most accurate detection for a wide range of applications. TrafiRadar has been designed to improve traffic safety and efficiency at signalized intersections. The system provides vehicle detection information to the traffic light control-ler for stop bar and advance detection, for traffic adaptive applications and for dilemma zone protection.

“By combining video and radar, we are offering two proven tech-nologies in one compact solution,” comments Lode Caenepeel, CEO at Traficon International nv. “The sensor can communicate valuable presence information to a traffic light control-ler and thus make traffic flows more efficient. For example, TrafiRadar is an ideal solution for traffic adaptive systems, but it also allows control-ling the traffic lights dynamically when motorists are in the dilemma zone. This is the zone where motorists might hesitate whether to continue driving or stop in case the traffic light switches from green to amber.”

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Get your story published in INSIDER magazine..Is Traficon making your intersection safer? Do you enjoy a smoother commute thanks to Traficon? Or do you have another Traficon story to tell that is worth sharing? Then let us know. Describe in a few sentences what your story is about and send it to [email protected]. Maybe you will see your story published in our next INSIDER issue.

Got a Story to Tell?

18


Making Room for

Trucks

If truck drivers along the European highway network would be better informed about the availability of parking spots, they would not have to park along the dangerous hard shoulder. Stereovision detection technology could very well play an important part in the solution of that particu-lar problem. →

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“Rather than counting trucks going in and out of the parking area, which accumulates errors and requires regular manual resetting, we believe in actually detecting the presence of trucks occupying the parking spots, more specifically with video detection.

However, video-based detection is only able to hold the detection as long as the vehicle is within the virtual detection zone for a predefined amount of time. After this time, called the learning time, the vehicle becomes part of the background. The challenge for truck parking occupancy with video detection is to eliminate the background learn-ing process in order to hold the detection status on a parked vehicle for a very long period. How does Traficon solve that?

Michael Deruytter: “Instead of using a single camera as input to the video detection system, we use two cameras to convert two-dimensional images into three-dimensional information. This is called stereovision, a concept that has proven its success with Traficon’s pedestrian presence sensor SafeWalk. Stereovision allows us to distinguish real objects from irrelevant background information and eliminate the so-called background learning process. This results in a detection system that can hold detection on the parked truck for an unlimited amount of time.”

Putting the concept to work

“With a stereovision camera installed on existing or new infrastructure, it is possible to detect the presence of multiple trucks in the field of view. The amount of trucks in the field of view will then depend on the camera height and the truck park layout. Several simulations have taught us that 5 truck parking places can be monitored with 1 stereo-vision camera at 6m height.”

Deploying multiple stereovision cameras on the park-ing area will result in a total overview and full coverage of all parking places. Each unit is then connected to a central parking management server.

The smart choice

The benefits of stereovision for outdoor truck parking occupancy detection are attractive to both system integra-tors and end users.

“A stereovision camera can be installed on existing in-frastructure, which makes it very easy to deploy,” according to Michael Deruytter. “Being non-intrusive, you don’t have to close down the parking area or clear the parking spaces to install the system. Even for configuration of the system, you don’t have to interrupt the daily flow of trucks entering and leaving the parking area.”

“By measuring the occupancy in real time, the system does not require a manual reset and manual count of parked vehicles. The accuracy rate is fixed and can be taken into account in the parking management system.

A major advantage of video detection is the visual feedback. At any time the camera video stream can be used for video surveillance. This creates a substantial benefit towards the safety and security operations of an outdoor truck parking area.”

Today’s highway truck parking areas in Europe strug-gle with availability issues due to the large amount of truck traffic on the road network. Road freight transport is still 72% of all freight transport. European truck parking areas are flooded by 2.5 million long distance truck drivers who need to stop for resting to comply with driving time regula-tions. A shortage of parking spots for trucks has led truck drivers to park along the highway hard shoulder, causing serious safety issues.

The value of improved information services towards truck drivers along the European road network can there-fore not be underestimated. Michael Deruytter, product

manager at Traficon explains: “By informing truck drivers about the location and availability of parking places, truck drivers could dynamically plan their route, so they would not be obliged to park at dangerous locations such as the hard shoulder or unprotected areas.”

Detect to inform

“ITS infrastructure could be used to provide truck drivers with information on parking occupancy. This could either be displayed on message signs along the road, on on-board computers or mobile smartphones. Based on the provided occupancy information, a parking guidance and reservation system could be deployed.”

A key element in this information system concept is the measurement of the number of available parking spots. By using a truck parking occupancy detection system, information about the amount and location of available parking places can be made available.

Occupancy detection

Traficon has been working on a video-based occupancy detection system for truck parking areas. Product manager Michael Deruytter further explains this.

Parked truck detection using stereovision analysis

The benefits of stereovision for outdoor truck park occupancy detection are attractive to both system integrators and end users.

20


The Graham Farmer Freeway is a 6.4-kilometre inner-city freeway in Perth, Western Australia. As an important connection between the city centre and Perth Airport, the freeway incorporates Western Australia’s only freeway tunnel, the Northbridge Tunnel. The 1.6-kilometre tunnel has two traffic lanes and an emergency stopping lane in each direction, with an escape passageway between the carriageways. The tunnel is colloquially known as the “Polly Pipe”, which refers to the Australian rules footballer, Graham “Polly” Farmer, who played between 1953 and 1971 in both the West Australian and Victorian Football Leagues.

Phil Martina, Control Room Manager for the North-bridge Tunnel, knows the Traficon detection system very well.

“As a central contact point for real-time traffic infor-mation, our operations center relies on a variety of tech-nologies, including Traficon’s, to monitor and analyze road traffic conditions around-the-clock,” he explains. “Today, we monitor the daily traffic movements through the tunnel, which currently include up to 100,000 vehicles per day. So, it is clear that we need best-in-class technology to help us guarantee safety inside the tunnel every day.”

The tunnel has been equipped with some 36 Video Im-agine Processing (VIP) units that provide direct detection of incidents, including stopped vehicles, queues and wrong-way drivers. The Traficon detection system has performed very well ever since the Northbridge tunnel was opened in April 2000.

“Twelve years ago, Traficon came out of a selection process as the preferred partner for the video-based inci-dent detection system,” explains Phil Martina. “After more than 12 years of operation, it is still the most reliable tool we have.” •

All Is Well in the Polly Pipe

Traficon products are built to last. What better way to prove that statement than to let our customers do the talking. Another fine example of Traficon’s long-lasting technology is the Northbridge Tunnel project in Perth, Australia. Still using the original video detection equipment that was installed more than 12 years ago, Northbridge tunnel operators praise the system’s performance. →

→ “Polly Pipe” refers

to the Australian

rules footballer,

Graham “Polly”

Farmer.

→ 36 VIP units pro-

vide direct detec-

tion of incidents.

→ Daily traffic move-

ments include

up to 100,000

vehicles per day.

“After more than 12 years of operation, the Traficon detection system is still the most reliable tool we have.” — Phil Martina

SPECIAL FEATURE

Traficon blew 20 candles at this year’s Intertraffic exhibition in Amsterdam. We are very happy that you were there to celebrate this event with us. So here’s a big thank you on behalf of the whole Traficon team.

Celebrating 20 years of traffic safety and efficiency

WWW.TRAFICON.COM

Documents

Traficon Insider Magazine 19 - October 2012