|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| CSIRO | SOLVE | Issue 5 Nov 05 | |
|
|
|
ARTICLE
TRAFFIC MONITORS: Eyes on the Road
By Tony Kaye
On any given day, hundreds of thousands of vehicles of all shapes and sizes, travelling at different speeds, use Australia’s major arterial roadways. Monitoring vehicle movements accurately has always been difficult, particularly as traffic volumes have continued to rise. But technology in this area has just taken another quantum leap forward, with the New South Wales Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) adopting CSIRO’s Hybrid Modular Processor System (HYMOD) technology for its Safe-T-Cam system, an automated monitoring system used to ‘read’ the front number plate of heavy vehicles to enforce heavy vehicle speed and driver fatigue requirements.
Technology previously restricted the tracking ability of systems to slower-moving vehicles such as trucks. But HYMOD can now monitor all vehicles, if required under future regulations. RTA project manager Nick Dunkley says the HYMOD technology is substantially faster than the systems previously in operation, and is a much smaller piece of equipment, requiring less infrastructure to support it. “The previous system required underground housings that were air-conditioned and quite substantial in size,” he says. “By contrast, the HYMOD equipment is small and can be located with the camera equipment on overhead gantries.” The tracking system can track vehicles at 60 frames per second, while a secondary camera will take still images of a vehicle at one-quarter of a millisecond when it reaches a trigger point. The still image is used for licence plate recognition software. CSIRO project manager Ashley Dreier says the previous system had more restrictions because of the speed at which it could operate. “The new system will cope with all vehicles at any time, at any speed, and that information can be accurately used to help improve road safety.”
For further information contact: |
 IN THIS ISSUE
|
| Home | About Us | eSubscribe | Links | |
|
|
||
|
|
|
There is a network of 26 Safe-T-Cam sites located on key freight routes throughout NSW. The RTA also uses Safe-T-Cam to identify vehicles by their registration number when they are approaching the RTA’s heavy vehicle checking stations. A vehicle’s registration information is processed and queried in a central database and a decision to direct the vehicle into the checking station or not is made in a matter of seconds.
Back to main