Quashing chaos and congestion

That sitting in traffic jams is an inevitable part of modern life seems all too apparent. Yet, could innovative technologies really mean the end of the road for the bottleneck bore?

“With AID, intelligent algorithms continually analyze camera images for unusual occurrences and alert operators within seconds of the type of incident and its location”

One news story that is the same every day all over the world is the inevitable daily traffic jam, the chaos and congestion on the roads. But what if reasonable detours redirected traffic just seconds after an accident? Or speed limits were adjusted to the flow of traffic? Suppose extra lanes became available before the bottleneck? It's not magic and it's not your imagination wandering while you wait behind the wheel. It's the up-and-coming technologies of automatic incident detection (AID), incident management, and the support such systems lend to traffic control room operators.

Roadside AID

There are already many different kinds of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) across the globe, from CCTV systems and sensors to variable message signs (VMS). While these technologies do help to ensure road safety, AID allows for more extensive systems in which a single operator can monitor hundreds of cameras simultaneously and promptly manage traffic flow and incidents. Moreover, research shows that such incident management systems play a crucial role in improving safety.

With AID, intelligent algorithms continually analyze camera images for unusual occurrences and alert operators within seconds of the type of incident and its location. From a centralized control center, the notified operator can visually verify the situation and react appropriately. This results in a powerful tool with which operators can instantly evaluate the severity of an incident and respond quickly and confidently.

The Siqura® TrafficServer™

AID systems entail, however, transmitting and archiving analog video material. This is resource intensive and can sometimes even diminish image quality or limit the realizable scope of a system. To curb these shortcomings, Optelecom-NKF, a leading global supplier of advanced video surveillance solutions and the manufacturer of Siqura® surveillance solutions, joined forces with AID expert, Traficon. Together, they developed the very first video encoder ever to be integrated with AID technology, what has become known as the Siqura TrafficServer™.

By embedding Traficon's field-proven incident detection algorithms into a Siqura encoder, the two companies were able to create a cutting-edge IP product that not only increases the quality and effectiveness of the AID system on the whole but also reduces the resources required.

By sharing cameras for both incident detection and video monitoring, the TrafficServer consumes less power and space than traditional AID systems, ultimately reducing maintenance and lowering the total cost of ownership.

Since the TrafficServer uses a dedicated DSP to implement the incident detection algorithms, all the number crunching is done locally, on the video server itself, and it therefore requires less processing power than centralized AID solutions. This dedicated DSP also cuts back on the amount of data lost in transmission. As a result, the system uses less bandwidth while actually improving video quality.

An additional dedicated DSP allows the TrafficServer to simultaneously transmit the promising new H.264 as well as MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and MJPEG. Consequently, the TrafficServer offers a selection of streaming options for several different purposes. The power to choose between these different video compression algorithms also ensures an easy and effective integration of the TrafficServer with existing applications as well as with future additions.

Award-winning technology

In September 2009, the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS), a non-profit organization that disseminates information and educational materials to enhance security knowledge, practice, and performance, judged the Siqura TrafficServer to be one of the industry's top transformational products, and the TrafficServer was selected as a winner of the ASIS Accolades – Security's Best 2009 competition. The award recognizes Optelecom-NKF for taking an existing technology and changing it completely in function and purpose for use in an innovative security application.

First AID for the El Fresno Tunnel

As advancements in ITS technologies gain ground, an increasing number of transportation authorities are adopting AID systems even as they build roads. An example of this is the A-63, a new highway being built in the Principality of Asturias on the northern coast of Spain. The road is intended to cut traveling time between the capital, Oviedo, and the coastal city of Canero.

This decreased driving time is due in part to a 949 meter long tunnel, the El Fresno Tunnel, which comprises two tubes, one for each direction. Although the personal, economic, and environmental benefits of such an efficient tunnel are truly great, accidents in recent decades have shown us that tunnels do pose a much greater risk to motorists than ordinary roads.

As a result of these potential perils, the information technology (IT) company heading up the implementation of all the electronic infrastructures in the El Fresno Tunnel, Indra Sistemas S.A., is certainly accounting for safety. To ensure that calamity can be efficiently and effectively countered, Indra has designed a CCTV-based traffic management system for the El Fresno Tunnel that will use automatic incident detection (AID).

It is here that the Siqura TrafficServer will make its debut. Eighteen TrafficServers will be installed throughout the El Fresno Tunnel to analyze the video streams of over twenty cameras spanning the scope of the tunnel. The TrafficServers will then merge the video and AID information and transmit it to a central control room.

In relation to this extensive undertaking, the Senior Account Executive at Indra, Julian Diaz Montoya, said, "Optelecom-NKF was able to meet the complex needs of this project: To provide the control room with both the images and data to enable effective decision making for optimizing traffic flow and incident detection."

A saving system

While the ultimate aim is to make roads safer and streamline the flow of traffic, combining intelligent transportation technologies in a user-friendly way will not only save time and money, but reduce pollution and prevent the needless loss of life. So, as you're steering your way through the gridlock and dreaming of driving on the hard shoulder, you might be comforted by the fact that technologies like the Siqura TrafficServer are already hitting the roads and will soon be helping you to swiftly but safely get wherever it is you're going.