Traficon INSIDER Magazine 20 - April 2013

InsIderNews and stories from Traficon International / April 2013

Better Together

The Camera That Never SleepsThermal cameras monitor traffic in the most challenging environments.

Living on the EdgeProduct manager Eddy Vermeulen talks about edge-based analytics.

Traficon is now FLIR Intelligent Transportation Systems

Continuing the Journey Together.

Traficon has recently become a FLIR company. An exciting time, because we believe that the combination of outstanding video analytics and the power of thermal imaging will offer our customers an even more performing solution. Traficon will be integrated into FLIR and will continue to deliver high-quality detection and monitoring solutions for the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) market. www.flir.com

1

The Insider March 2013

Content

PublisherFLIR Intelligent Transportation Systems nv Hospitaalweg 1B8510 MarkeBelgium—www.traficon.com

Managing editorKristof Maddelein

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

Image creditsWikimedia CommonsFlickR

Imagery used for illustration purposes only.

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.

Better Together

Monitoring the Middle East’s Longest Tunnel

Singapore on the Go

Living on the Edge

Safely Crossing on Peace Avenue

The Camera That Never Sleeps

South Road Superway

The New Safewalk: Easy as One, Two, Three

A Total Monitoring Solution for Marseille

Flux and the City

Booming Nanning

Kick Out the Jams

2 →

5 →

6 →

8 →

9 →

10 →

13 →

14 →

16 →

18 →

19 →

20 →

Last year, when we celebrated Trafi-con’s 20 year existence, we took the time to look back on what we have achieved and on the path we have taken as a company. Today is a time to look forward. As Traficon is now part of FLIR Systems, things will certainly change. And I am sure it will be for the better.

Standing still is the fastest way of moving backwards in a rapidly chang-ing world, which is why we have to adapt to the future. FLIR Systems will help Traficon to do that. The oppor-tunities that FLIR is bringing to the market offer us a new challenge.

One thing is certain: we will do more. On the one hand, we will keep looking after our existing custom-ers with our well-known Traficon video detection products for traffic

A New Challenge

applications. On the other hand, we will extend our product portfolio by combining video detection with ther-mal cameras and other technologies. Again, we will be at the forefront of ITS technology.

In April 2013, Traficon will be-come FLIR Intelligent Transportation Systems, the company’s competence center for the ITS market. On top of that, we will move to a new building. However, the traditional Traficon values remain, because they seam-lessly coincide with the FLIR values: customer satisfaction, best product performance and ease of use.

I hope to welcome you all at a con-gress or trade show in the near future, so we can show you what the future will bring.

2


Better Together

3


“Traficon was contacted by FLIR Systems on the occasion of the grow-ing demand for detection systems for vulnerable road users in the US,” comments Lode Caenepeel. “There, authorities increasingly invest in the protection of pedestrians and bicyclists. California is a fine example of a state that takes a pioneering role upon itself when it comes to protecting bicyclists.”

The state of California was look-ing for a technology that could detect bicyclists at multi-lane intersections. Authorities were looking for a way to control traffic lights more dynami-cally, providing cyclists with enough time to cross intersections safely. Traditional visual-light cameras are not as well-suited for this job, as most bicyclists don’t carry lights. That is why Traficon started to investigate the possibility of using thermal cam-eras for this task. It resulted in a dedi-cated detection system for US-based intersections that is able to make a

Last December, Traficon announced the acquisition of the company by US-based FLIR Systems, Inc. With the acquisition, both FLIR Systems and Traficon have great plans to offer solutions for traffic safety and efficiency worldwide. And by combining field-proven technologies, the newly established FLIR Intelligent Transportation Systems division will be able to offer a product portfolio that is second to none in the ITS industry. Lode Caene-peel, Vice President & General Manager at Traficon, and Andy Teich, President of FLIR Commercial Systems, Inc., talk about the acquisition. →

distinction between bikes and cars.“That was actually the time

when we came into contact with FLIR Systems. FLIR was looking into ways to grow in the traffic market, and saw great partnership opportunities with Traficon,” comments Lode Caenepeel. “When we were asked to join FLIR, it was a request we couldn’t deny.” Traficon was acquired by FLIR on 28 December 2012. The more than 80 Traficon employees will stay focused on selling and developing innovative traffic detection systems.

The thermal imaging leader

While FLIR’s corporate headquarters are in Portland, Oregon, USA, part of its 3,000 employees work in offices throughout Europe, including the UK, France, Spain and Sweden. The company’s advanced thermal imaging and threat detection systems are used for a wide variety of imaging, ther-mography, and security applications, including airborne and ground-based

Traficon International becomes dedicated ITS division of FLIR Systems.

About Andy Teich

Andy Teich has been President of the Company’s Commercial Systems Division since January 2010. From April 2006 to January 2010, he served as President of the Company’s Commercial Vision Systems Division. From 2000 to 2006, he served as the Senior Vice President of Sales and Mar-keting and then as Co-President of the Imaging Division at FLIR. Andy joined FLIR as Senior Vice President, Marketing, as a result of FLIR’s acquisition of Inframet-rics in March 1999. He holds a B.S. degree in Marketing from Arizona State University and is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program.

About Lode Caenepeel

Lode Caenepeel was appointed as CEO of Traficon in 2010. From 2001 to 2010, Lode served as International Sales Manager and later as Director of Sales and Marketing. Before that, Lode had a career of more than 10 years in international sales and project management for sensor systems. He started his career in the field of applied research in solid state physics and as an R&D engineer designing IR and thermal cameras for space and military applications. Lode holds a master degree in Physics and one in Planning of Co-operation in Third world countries.

“FLIR was looking into ways to grow in the traffic market, and saw great partnership opportunities with Traficon.”

4


surveillance, condition monitoring, research and development, manufac-turing process control, search and rescue, drug interdiction, naviga-tion, transportation safety, border and maritime patrol, environmental monitoring, and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives detection.

FLIR Systems is a relatively new name in the world of ITS, although the company managed to gain massive attention over the past few years. “The company was mostly known for its technology that is used in mission-critical applications,” comments Andy Teich. “FLIR recently discovered the benefits of its technology for use in traffic applications. Today, FLIR camera technology is used by several hundred agencies and deployed in 45 of the 50 states.”

This is a true success story, and the direct result of thermal imaging technology’s main benefit: ther-mal cameras are immune to direct sunlight, night-time headlight glare, reflection from wet surfaces, shad-ows and many other weather-related phenomena. Traffic cameras can have issues with all these phenomena and might need extra algorithms or intel-ligence to efficiently cope with them.

“Since its entry in the ITS market, FLIR has offered its thermal cameras as a drop-in replacement for legacy video cameras and compatible with any detection technology out there,” comments Andy Teich. “FLIR now also offers a camera series that has been especially developed for the ITS market, the FC-Series.”

Thermal imaging for traffic applications

FLIR Systems expects that the acqui-sition of Traficon will fuel its growth in the global ITS market in the long term. With good reason, because the use of thermal cameras for ITS ap-plications certainly opens up a world of possibilities. “Be it as a replacement of legacy video equipment or as a com-plement to video cameras, thermal

imaging technology will find its way into practically any application that is now addressed with video cameras,” comments Andy Teich.

Following the drop-in replace-ment strategy, FLIR is looking first and foremost to the roadway incident detection and intersection markets. Highways without night illumination are just one example of an applica-tion where thermal imaging will offer added value: detecting nighttime pe-destrians, cyclists and motorists that use their high beams is not a problem for thermal imaging technology. For the intersection market, Traficon and FLIR Systems have been able to develop a unique detection system that analyzes images from thermal cameras in order to detect bicycles ap-proaching or waiting at the intersec-tion across multiple lanes.

The visual factor

Will this be the end of video de-tection systems with visual cameras? By no means. Visual detection still has its strengths. One of the most impor-tant strengths of video detection lies in the fact that operators can use their video streams to visually check what is going on in true color. “Immediate visual verification of an incident or traffic situation is an invaluable asset, for example for enforcement purposes, and video streams still offer the best possible intuitive interface to the op-erator,” comments Lode Caenepeel.

FLIR Intelligent Transportation Systems

With the integration of Traficon technology into FLIR’s portfolio, a new division called FLIR Intelligent Transportation Systems was born. Combining the strengths of both FLIR and Traficon into one dedicated divi-sion will result in a detection product portfolio that is second to none. FLIR Intelligent Transportation Systems will be the company’s new center of competence for the traffic market. The acquisition will grant the former Tra-ficon easy access to innovative tech-

nologies that will allow the company to develop better detection solutions for its customers.

“The low-cost thermal cameras, global distribution and financial back-bone of FLIR Systems, combined with Traficon’s processing boards, algorithms, traffic camera expertise and distribution network will give the new FLIR Intelligent Transportation Systems a true competitive advan-tage,” comments Andy Teich.

→ Traficon and FLIR Systems have developed a bike detection system that analyzes images from thermal cameras.

5


Spanning 3.6km in total, including a 2.4km covered section, the bi-direc-tional (four lanes in each direction) structure is the Middle East’s longest road tunnel. The Sheikh Zayed Tunnel runs 15m underground below the UAE capital and is expected to be a huge tool in the fight to ease the city’s congestion woes.

The overall goal of the Sheikh Zayed Tunnel is to reduce congestion, but the most critical priority for day-to-day operations is not simply to get traffic from A to B smoothly; it’s to do so safely. And to achieve this goal means knowing exactly what’s happening in the tunnel at all times. The quicker an incident is picked up by tunnel manag-ers, the quicker it can be dealt with.

Traficon/FLIR’s AID solutions are known across the world for the immense value they bring to tun-

Although there are numerous examples of innovative ITS projects in the Middle East, few are as impressive as the recently opened Sheikh Zayed Tunnel in Abu Dhabi. →

nel, highway and bridge operators. The company’s products have saved countless lives by enabling operators to manage incidents quickly and to prevent them escalating further. For this particular project, the company was tasked with providing technology both for incident detection and traffic management.

Automatic Incident Detection

On the incident detection side, Traficon/FLIR delivered 174 of its advanced network video encoders with integrated AID capabilities for the Video Incident Detection System (VIDS) component of the project. In short, these sophisticated encoders have field-proven Traficon algorithms on board to pick up on any unusual activity in the tunnel. Such incidents span everything from accidents to

Monitoring the Middle East’s

Longest TunnelAutomatic incident detection and traffic

data collection for the Sheikh Zayed Tunnel, Abu Dhabi, UAE

slow moving vehicles that need to be tracked, to wrong-way drivers and dangerous debris on the road.

Data collection

For the traffic management compo-nent, known as the Video Vehicle Detection System (VVDS), Traficon/FLIR delivered 45 network video encoders. These collect data that is required for everyday operations (such as traffic flow speed and zone occu-pancy) and for enabling the tunnel managers to develop long-term opera-tional strategies. Both individual data parameters—such as speed, headway, gap time, vehicle classification—and integrated vehicle traffic data—such as volume and average speed per vehicle class per lane, headway, gap time per length class per lane and occupancy—can be gathered as required.

Abu Dhabi

6


6

Traficon/FLIR vehicle detection boards are feeding the Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System

(EMAS) along Singaporean arterial roads. →

Singapore on the Go

7


7

Singaporean transport authorities are increasingly coping with congestion and road safety issues. The country is in fact a vast urban area and thus a perfect fit for Traficon/FLIR’s urban vehicle detection technologies, de-signed to enhance safety and alleviate congestion. Last year, a project with 350 video image processing boards installed along Singapore’s arte-rial roads, came into operation. The project fits into the framework of the Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System (EMAS) program for arterial roads.

Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System

EMAS is being applied to manage major arterial roads that also serve as alternative bypass routes to the expressways in Singapore. EMAS is a highly automated and robust sys-tem that provides early detection of incidents on the road, enhancing road safety, minimizing traffic conges-tion and ensuring smooth integration with other existing sub-systems. The system provides motorists with real-time information on traffic conditions. Traffic advisories, real-time conges-tion and accident updates are dissemi-nated to motorists through electronic message signage on the expressways and arterial roads. This allows them to better plan their routes so as to avoid the roads affected by congestions and incidents, and thereby save commut-ing time.

The Traficon/FLIR detection technology will provide the EMAS system with vehicle counting, vehicle classification and speed information, as well as real-time information about incidents, wrong-way drivers, queues and stopped vehicles. All collected in-formation by the video detectors will be managed by Flux servers, Traficon’s Intelligent Video Detection Manage-ment Software system.

Excellent performance in tough conditions

“We are very pleased to be selected for

this important traffic management project,” comments Koen Soenens, International Business Development Manager at Traficon. “The Traficon/FLIR detection technology has proven to be performing extremely well in the difficult Singaporean conditions. Canopy shadows and tropical weather conditions: our detectors handle it very well.”

“The detectors’ data collection capabilities are crucial to the EMAS system,” Koen Soenens continues. “The Traficon/FLIR algorithms pro-vide accurate information on queue types and are able to distinguish no less than five vehicle classes, even at nighttime. This data is invaluable to provide motorists with updated traffic information and make travel time calculations.”

Urban reference

With its recent EMAS successes, Traficon/FLIR is quickly becoming the reference for urban traffic projects

in Singapore. This is also illustrated by the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) tunnel project, for which Tra-ficon was selected in 2011 by system integrator Tyco Fire, Security & Ser-vices Pte Ltd. In the framework of this project, Traficon delivered another 284 video image processing modules which will be used for Automatic Inci-dent Detection (AID).

Video image processor

The Traficon video image processing boards provide real-time data and image information for optimal traffic control and fast, accurate incident detection. Fast DSP processors allow various algorithms (motion detection, adaptive shadow suppression, etc.) to run simultaneously on one single board. This ensures high reliability and a low false alarm rate of the video detection system. The Traficon boards use MPEG4 image compression to of-fer full frame rate streaming video.

“Canopy shadows and tropical weather conditions: our detectors handle it very well.”

8


Can you explain what edge-based analytics means?

In traditional traffic monitoring systems, the video images captured by traffic cameras are first sent to a central server where the actual video analytics is being performed. The drawback of this approach is that high-quality video needs to be trans-mitted to the server over a network, which results in an increase in net-work traffic load. In an edge-based ap-proach, the analytics functionality is positioned closer to the traffic camera, to the edge of the network so to speak. With our VIP-TX board product for example, video encoding and analyt-ics are integrated into one unit. This means that if analytics is running on the edge, the network traffic is heavily reduced. In fact, there is no traffic as long as nothing relevant happens. Analytics can even be integrated into the actual camera, taking the edge-based principle one step further. This is the case with Traficon’s box camera TrafiBot.

What has caused edge-based ana-lytics to take off recently?

The key driver of this evolution is increased processing power. Moving the intelligence to the camera used to be difficult because of the very limited processing power in cameras, leading to very limited capabilities or badly performing analytics. However, with evolving processor technology, an in-creasing number of manufacturers are moving powerful processors into their camera designs. In case of Traficon’s

At last year’s ITS World Congress in Vi-enna, Traficon announced an extended portfolio of automatic incident detection products, including an integrated video analytics and encoding board, next to an all-in-one box camera with integrated analytics and encoding. With these new products, Traficon embraces the growing trend of edge-based analytics. We talked with Eddy Vermeulen, product manager at Traficon, to discuss the benefits of this approach. →

TrafiBot product, the camera has even been specifically designed bottom-up to handle the complex Traficon video analytics.

Some might argue that cameras are the weak link in the video detection chain. Can you comment on that?

Cameras have become much more reli-able in recent years. This is certainly the case with IP cameras, which have more robust electronics than their analog counterparts. Already in the security market, more IP cameras are being installed than analog cameras. The traffic market—usually a bit more conservative—will follow that trend eventually. With the TrafiBot camera, we can even offer a mean time between failure of 38 years.

Are there any other features of the new Traficon products that traffic professionals should get excited about?

Both new Traficon products are ONVIF-compliant. ONVIF is a global standard for communication between several IP products, such as video encoders, video management systems, video walls and video recorders. ONVIF video streams are able to carry metadata. In the long run, it will also become possible to include analytics information into the ONVIF stream. But for now, it means that these products are compatible with different equipment suppliers, which will result in a much easier installation and integration.

Living on the EdgeProduct manager Eddy Vermeulen talks about edge-based analytics.

→ The TrafiBot camera has integrated video analytics, taking the edge-based principle one step further.


9

Lipetsk is located about 400 km South-East of Moscow in the Central Federal District of Russia, on the banks of the Voronezh River. It is the industrial center of the region with heavy focus on steel, and today, it houses more than 500,000 people. Like with any flourishing city, local authorities are confronted with increased traffic, and as a result increased congestion and safety issues.

Unsafe crosswalk

At one of the city’s crosswalks, at Peace Avenue (Prospect Mira, Проспект Мира), crossing the street used to be the equivalent of Russian roulette.

“The crosswalk on Peace Avenue used to be very dangerous, due the busy traffic and insufficient pedes-trian visibility,” comments Artem Kryvobok, international business development manager at Traficon/FLIR. “The push button system that was in place was not really guarantee-ing safety for pedestrians crossing. People sometimes forget to push the button, or are just reluctant to do so and cross the street anyway, some-times resulting in very dangerous situ-ations. On the other hand, the traffic lights’ green-red alternation was done via fixed time intervals, regardless of pedestrians present on the sidewalk or not. This was not very efficient for the fluidity of city traffic.”

Pilot project

Lipetsk city authorities wanted to learn how they could improve the overall traffic situation. As a pilot project, they called upon Traficon

The first Russian installation of a Traficon/FLIR pedes-trian detection sensor is not reserved for Moscow or St. Petersburg. Instead, the honors go to Lipetsk, one of Russia’s most rapidly developing cities. In an effort to im-prove safety at one of its pedestrian crosswalks, Lipetsk city authorities recently called upon Traficon technology. →

technology to make traffic lights more dynamic and thus make pedestrians more visible for approaching motor-ists.

Traficon installed its SafeWalk pedestrian presence sensors at both sides of the crosswalk. The sensors are connected with the traffic light controller and a VMS panel which is visibly warning motorists about pe-destrians that are waiting to cross.

Results

Now, the presence of a pedestrian is activating the traffic light and warning panel. The benefits are twofold. First, it will always be safer for pedestrians to cross, because they are made more visible with the VMS warning panel, and they no longer depend on a push button that gives them a green light. Next to that, motorists will be glad to know that their route will no longer be interrupted by a red traffic light, un-less it is really needed, when there are actually people waiting to cross.

With more than 100 intersections and crosswalks in the city of Lipetsk, city authorities have still some work ahead in improving safety of their streets. Maybe Traficon might help there as well in the future.

Safely Crossing on Peace Avenue

→ The crosswalk on Peace Avenue used to be very dangerous, due the busy traffic and insuf-ficient pedestrian visibility.

Lipetsk

10


The Camera

That Never Sleeps

11


Best way to control traffic signals

Because thermal cameras can see clearly regardless of lighting or weather conditions, Thermal Signal Control cameras are the most efficient, cost-effective way to im-prove traffic flow, automatically determine traffic volume, and control signals.

Uninterrupted roadway monitoring

ITS roadway monitoring cameras need to give you clear information about what’s happening on your roadways, and FLIR’s thermal cameras for Roadway Monitoring do just that. By coupling thermal and visible-light imaging in a sin-gle rugged pan/tilt system, you get complete roadway video coverage you can monitor in real time over the internet.Because thermal cameras can see clearly 24/7 they make video surveillance of roadways for Intelligent Transpor-tation Systems more effective and more efficient. And, because they see farther in complete darkness, you can reduce pole and infrastructure costs. Thermal cameras let you do more for less.

Thermal cameras provide uninterrupted imaging per-formance regardless of the time of day or conditions.

FLIR Thermal Cameras APPLICATION FIELDS

•Incident Detection

•Traffic Flow Monitoring

•Vehicle Counting

Standard video cameras are plagued by lots of imaging challenges: sun glare, shadows, wet streets, snow, fog ... And although Traficon video detection soft-ware can meet most of these challenges, FLIR’s high-performance thermal cameras now also offer you uninterrupted 24-hour detection of motorized vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians in the most challenging environments. →

→ Thermal signal control cameras are an efficient, cost-effective way to improve traffic flow.

→ Thermal cameras make 24/7 video surveillance of roadways more efficient.

→ Thermal cameras can easily make a distinction between bikes and cars.

→ Thermal cameras at the entries and exits of tunnels can complement video cameras and hence improve the overall performance of an automatic incident detection (AID) system.

12


Thermal cameras detect the heat signatures given off by everything in their field of view, 24/7. Because they see heat, not light, they don’t get confused by sun glare, darkness, headlights, shadows, wet streets, and poor weather conditions.

1 → Sun GlareThermal cameras ignore sun glare—whether it’s shining directly into the camera or reflecting off wet roads—and only respond to the heat signa-tures they detect.

2 → HeadlightsAt night, the headlights from cars and trucks can confuse video cameras, cause false and missed calls at stop bars and make accurate observation of highway traffic at night virtually impossible. Thermal cameras are immune to headlight glare, so they see clearly.

3 → See Through ShadowsVideo cameras can miss pedestrians, cyclists, ani-mals, and even cars if they’re in the shadows. But since thermal cameras see heat, not light, there are no shadows in a thermal world. Heat can’t hide from a thermal camera, no matter where it is.

4 → See Through SnowNothing can blind a video camera faster than snow, but thermal detects cars reliably regardless of outside temperature and in a wide variety of weather conditions.

5 → Long-Range ITS ViewingAt night, a highway looks like an indistinct row of lights to a video camera, making meaningful data collection and incident assessment impossible. But thermal cameras see the heat signatures of vehicles clearly from miles away, even at night, and also provide clear video of the roadsides for awareness of parked vehicles or other hazards.

The Power of Thermal

→ Thermal cameras see the heat signatures of vehicles clearly from miles away, even at night.

→ Thermal cameras ignore sun glare, whether it’s shining directly into the camera or reflecting off wet roads.

→ The FLIR Intelligent Transportation Systems sales team is ready for a new challenge: bringing the combined portfolio of visual video and thermal based products and solutions to the market.

13


South Road SuperwayAUSTRALIA

Traficon/FLIR incident detection technology will be part of Australia’s

largest road project to date.

The Australian and South Australian Governments are working together to improve transport efficiency and safety in South Australia, to remove bottlenecks and reduce congestion in the metropolitan area. The South Road Superway is part of a larger proposal to upgrade the whole of South Road (from Gawler to Old Noarlunga, Adelaide) to a high standard, high speed arterial link.

The $842 million South Road Superway project is the biggest single investment in a South Australian road project, and the state’s most complex engineering road construction project

to date. The South Road Superway delivers a 4.8 kilometre non-stop cor-ridor, comprising of a 2.8 kilometre elevated roadway, from the Port River Expressway to Regency Road.

Automatic incident detection technology from Traficon/FLIR will be used to keep this superway safe on a 24/7 basis. 68 of the company’s video image processing modules (VIP-T) will be installed in a central control room and will analyze video images coming from the cameras placed along the multi-lane elevated road for among others stopped vehicles, wrong-way drivers and lost cargo.

“Traficon/FLIR incident detec-tion modules have proven their use in tunnels across the Australian main-land,” comments Nico Verstraete, business development manager for Australia. “For the Adelaide Super-way, the incident detection modules will detect any irregularity that oc-curs on the 2,8 km multi-lane stretch in a matter of seconds. This will help emergency services to save valuable time when things get critical.”

The Adelaide Superway is expect-ed to be open for traffic by December 2013.

Australia

14


Easy as one, two, three

Since its conception, SafeWalk pedestrian presence sensors have been improving safety and efficiency in urban areas all around the world. Detection of pedestrians allows for the dynamic control of traffic lights and warning lights, such as flashing beacons. With the new version of SafeWalk, traffic lights can be controlled even more dynamically, making smart cities an easily achievable goal. →

15


The most notable thing about the new SafeWalk is its occupancy detection capability. By measuring the space oc-cupied by pedestrians waiting on the sidewalk, a range of new applications become possible.

Urgency of green time

It makes good sense to give priority to a group of pedestrians to allow them to cross the street safely. However, when a single pedestrian is crossing the street and hereby interrupting a steady flow of busy traffic, there is an imbalance. Clearly, the benefit of pedestrian priority should be weighed against the mobility and efficiency of traffic in general. This is where the new SafeWalk comes in. Not only does this product detect the presence of pe-destrians on the curb, but it also takes into account the occupancy of pe-destrians in that particular sidewalk zone. This way, it is possible to decide that pedestrians are given green prior to the vehicle flow, only when a certain number of people is reached. In other words, the more people occupying the zone, the more urgent the green time becomes. Imagine a crosswalk near a sports stadium before an important football game compared to that same crosswalk on a regular week day and you will realize those are two different traffic situations.

Adapted crossing time

Larger groups of people will need more time to cross the street. Another application of the new SafeWalk with occupancy detection capabilities is to

With its new occupancy detection capabilities, a wide range of new smart city applications for SafeWalk emerge that fall outside the typical area of traffic light control. SafeWalk could for example measure the occupancy of people at bus stops. This information can then be

Smart Buses for Smart Cities

Product Spotlight: the new SafeWalk

→ By measuring the space occupied by pedestrians on the sidewalk, new ap-plications become possible.

→ The new SafeWalk has BPL connection and a wider viewing angle.

adapt the time to cross according to the number of people detected. In ad-dition, the time provided to cross can be displayed on counters.

A matter of statistics

City planners responsible for install-ing new pedestrian or bike facilities like crosswalks, sidewalks or bike routes rely on real data to build their case. Data on the occupancy of pedestrians or other vulnerable road users for a given traffic environment is essential for the decision whether or not it makes sense to make the investment. By logging the data that is generated by SafeWalk in real time, a clear view on the pedestrian traffic can be given.

More performance, more convenience

Next to its added occupancy detec-tion capabilities, the new SafeWalk also improves in other areas. First of all, the new sensor has a wider view-ing angle, which allows it to scan a wider area. Second, the sensor is now standard available with Broadband Over Powerline (BPL) connection, which makes installation much easier and allows installers to cover larger distances than with normal network cables.

made available to the bus driver over a wireless network. This way, the driver is able to decide to skip a bus stop when no one is waiting. By avoiding unnecessary bus stops in his round, the bus driver can contribute to reducing traffic conges-tion, reduce emissions, and at the same

time save time. SafeWalk could also activate street lights when people are detected in a certain range. This enables street lights to be dimmed when no one is around, which can result in significant energy savings.

16


A Total Traffic Monitoring Solution for

Marseille

P O W E R E D B Y

17


The 2.5 km long Prado Carénage Tun-nel allows you to easily and quickly cross the city of Marseille without leaving the motorway. The Tunnel Prado Carénage connects the South-ern districts of the city of Marseille and the Eastern motorway to the city centre and to North via the Vieux Port tunnel and the coastal motorway. The 1,500 metre double-deck Prado Sud tunnel, each with two lanes, will extend the existing Prado Carénage tunnel towards the southern part of the city. The tunnel is scheduled to open in 2014.

Complete monitoring solution

“For this project, FLIR is offering a complete detection and monitoring solution, including automatic incident detection, surveillance cameras, mo-

Traficon / FLIR Intelligent Transportation Systems re-cently landed a contract to equip both the Prado Caré-nage Tunnel and the Prado Sud Tunnel in Marseille with AID technology. Thanks to Traficon, it will be safer and more efficient to cross the city of Marseille by road. →

152 cameras in the Prado tunnels are monitoring traffic for all types of incidents.

“With the addition of this contract, our technology is now monitoring all current tunnels in the city of Marseille.”

bile cameras, recording capabilities and visualization,” comments Steve Collins, sales manager at FLIR Intel-ligent Transportation Systems. “With the addition of this contract, our tech-nology is now monitoring all current tunnels in the city of Marseille.”

For these Marseille tunnels, Tra-ficon/FLIR is offering high-quality video servers with integrated video analytics, as well as an integrated automatic incident detection system. The choice of the technology fits into the growing trend of edge-based analytics, where the video analytics functionality is positioned closer to the traffic camera, to the edge of the network so to speak.

The bigger picture

Some 57 cameras in the Prado Sud

tunnel and 95 cameras in the Prado Carénage tunnel are monitoring traffic for all types of incidents, including stopped vehicles, wrong way drivers, pedestrians and smoke. All this infor-mation, provided by a combination of cameras and encoders, is collected and managed by the Flux video detection management system.

Flux collects traffic data, events, alarms and video images generated by the video detectors. The main goal of Flux is to manage and control all traffic information generated by these various detectors and to make it useful, meaningful and relevant to the user. Flux provides a user-friendly interface composed of a monitor-ing and a reporting application and enables real-time monitoring of events and alarms.

— Steve Collins

18


Traffic sensors from Traficon / FLIR Intelligent Transportation Systems have found their way across Germany, including the city of Darmstadt. TrafiCam x-stream sensors detect the presence of vehicles at Darmstadt traf-fic lights and allow those lights to be controlled more efficiently. Data about queues and congestion levels is contin-uously collected and fed into the traffic management system. Also pedestrian presence sensors from Traficon/FLIR are used to manage traffic lights and help make vulnerable road users make a safe crossing.

Needless to say that the installa-tion of these many different sensors and cameras across the city results in a complex network of information. Luckily, there’s a system that turns all this data into useful information for traffic authorities.

“With the Flux video detection

As part of a larger urban zone across the southern part of the German Rhine Main Area, the city of Darmstadt does not escape from the present-day woes of traffic conges-tion. Smart traffic sensors placed across the city and smart software collecting all the information from these sensors, help to put a stop to this worrying trend. →

management system, Darmstadt traf-fic operators have a very useful tool that makes the wide variety of traffic information presentable and digest-ible,” comments Benjamin Schierick, sales manager for Germany. “Based on the data visualized and reported by the Flux system, they can optimize city traffic lights according to peak hours, and gather data about queues during roadworks for example.”

The client of Flux is a web-based application. This means users only need a web-browser installed on their PC that is connected to the network of the video detection system to access the traffic management system. This web-based zero-install GUI provides more flexibility and better manage-ability for all users because there is no requirement to install client code or software on the PC.

Flux and the CitySmart traffic management in the city of Darmstadt.

Both the Marseille and Darmstadt pro-jects are making use of the new Flux software package. Let’s have a look at the new features version 2.1 offers.

Advanced camera and detector managementThe new Flux is now managing sources from any major camera manufacturer out there, not only from Traficon detection modules. This way, you can use Flux as a comprehensive traffic and sur-veillance monitoring solution for your city or road network.

Mobile camera supportFlux offers joystick functionality, so you can remotely control your mobile camera with the greatest precision.

Record, export, controlThe new Flux has extended recording capabilities that allow you to control all recorder units in your network, manage your recordings, playback and export your recorded session to a file type of your choice.

Video stream visualization on one or multiple video wallsFlux allows you to present your video sources, coming from any type of camera or detector, on a large video wall or on multiple video walls. Easy drag & drop functionality enables you to organize your display wall according to your preferences.

New in Flux 2.1

Darmstadt

→ Flux is a compre-hensive traffic and surveillance monitoring solution for your city or road network.

19


Booming NanningCHINA

TrafiCam sensors help relieve traffic congestion in Nanning, China.

Nanning, capital city of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is known as the “Green City” because of its abun-dance of lush tropical foliage. Nanning serves as a host for the annual China-ASEAN Expo which began in 2005. As an important gateway to Southeast Asia for Southwestern China, Nan-ning is a hub, a regional center and an opening city that plays an active role in the communication between China and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries. Today, the city is a new and booming economic zone and a hotspot for foreign invest-ments in China.

In the past ten years, the urban area of Nanning has doubled. No wonder then that, along with the rapid economic development, the city is in-creasingly plagued with traffic conges-tion. In order to tackle this demanding

traffic situation, Nanning authorities have invested significantly in intel-ligent transportation systems, more specifically in an adaptive traffic signal control system. So far, 200 of the city’s intersections are now controlled with ITACA, a proprietary real-time traffic control system from Telvent.

However, Nanning traffic police is greatly bothered by another problem: broken loop detectors. Heavy trucks, frequent municipal engineering along with the fast city development shortened many loop detectors to only a 3-month lifetime. “Normally 20-30% loop detectors are broken even before the project is finished,” comments Mr. Chen of Nanning traffic police. In 2010 Nanning traffic police started to seek alternative detection technologies. They contacted Traficon after some investigations including site visits in

the cities of Nanjing and Zhongshan, where Traficon systems are already operational. A trial installation in their own city assured Nanning traffic police that TrafiCam was the solution they had been looking for.

In a first phase, 109 TrafiCams have been implemented at 30 inter-sections throughout 2011 and 2012. These units are mainly installed at the intersections formed by two arterial roads: Dongge road and Minzu Avenue. Mounting on existing road sign panels or new gantries, these TrafiCams pro-vide accurate data to Telvent control-lers which help bring the ITACA sys-tem to its full potential. The sensors’ excellent day/night performance and reliability have led to an extension of the project with another 400 TrafiCam units which will be installed in second half of 2013.

Nanning

20


Master plan for Jakarta

When talking about the Jakarta, Indonesia’s economic, cultural and political centre, it is very easy to lapse into superlatives. With a population of over 10 million people, it is the most populous city in Indonesia and in Southeast Asia, and is the thirteenth most populated city in the world. The official metropolitan area, known as Jabodetabek, is also the second largest in the world.

As transportation in Jabodetabek heavily relies on road transportation (almost 98%), the surge in the number of motorized vehicle has been tremen-dous. This is worsening the conges-tion in the region and is causing huge economic inefficiencies and loss.

In order to tackle this problem, Jakarta authorities laid out an ambi-tious and very comprehensive master plan, including the development of public transport, road pricing meas-ures and road capacity improvements. As part of this latter set of measures, an Area Traffic Control Systems (ATCS) was implemented that has been designed to control traffic lights and as a result improve traffic flows and reduce the risk of congestion.

The modern ATCS system is one of the biggest TrafiCam sites using the field-proven SCATS traffic flow system. About 135 TrafiCam sensors and 25 TrafiCam x-stream sensors have been installed at some 37 inter-sections across the city of Jakarta and

now feed the SCATS system with reli-able video-based traffic information.

When there is a traffic jam at a certain intersection that interrupts the traffic flow, TrafiCam can feed the ATCS system with vehicle presence information and allow it to directly alter the frequency and duration of red and green lights at that intersection.

Critical congestion levels in Surabaya

A similar story can be noted on the other side of the Java Island. Surabaya is Indonesia’s second-largest city with a population of over 3.1 million (5.6 million in the metropolitan area), and the capital of the province of East Java. Traffic jams in Surabaya have reached a critical threshold and road infrastructures are insufficiently meeting the needs of the growing number of vehicles.

In 2011, 15 more intersections were connected with the existing ATCS in Surabaya. Also here, the system is fed by video-based vehicle presence information coming from 90 TrafiCam sensor units installed across multiple locations.

Kick Out the Jams

Jakarta

TrafiCam sensors help meet Indonesia’s ambitious traffic management plans.

VIP-BIKE. Bike detection on thermal traffic cameras.

Bike safety taken seriously.

dedicated bike presence information for intersections

• Provendetectionalgorithms

• Highdetectionrate

• Easytoconfigure

• Non-disruptive,above-groundinstallation

• Visualverificationviastreamingvideo

Application areas

• Adaptedgreentimeforcyclists

• Bikecounting

Bike detection systems are an ideal way to enhance safety and effici-ency for cyclists at intersections. The Traficon VIP-BIKE platform offers high-performance bike detection for thermal cameras that overcomes the limitations of traditional inductive detection loops.

Read more at www.traficonusa.com

www.TRaFICoN.Comwww.FLIR.Com

Traficon INSIDER Magazine 20 - April 2013

Documents

flir systems

traficon international

flir values

flir company

traditional traficon

better togethermonitoring

new challengeapplications

better together3t