LOTraffic© standard installation
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LOTraffic© is a multifunctional sensor engineered to collect information about traffic flow and vehicles' behaviour in urban streets. LOTraffic's real-time software system coupled with state-of-the-art laser ranging technology is able to scan and sample the environment 38 times per second. Data is further analysed in real-time in order to allow the software framework to deliver precise and pristine information about every object lying in the field of view. The presence of persons, bicycles, motorcycles, cars and trucks is detected, along with their geometrical characteristics. Furthermore, objects are tracked during time: Their speed and the path they followed are available to the application software. The process is enhanced by a robust tracking engine that allows for the speculative following of objects that cannot be detected (i.e. objects that are temporarily non-visible) for relatively short time-lapses. |
LOTraffic's application software is layered on top of the tracking framework for custom tailored functionality. |
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LOTraffic's possible deployments cover (but are not limited to): Measurement of traffic flow with velocity and geometry information; Tracking of waiting cars and persons (e.g. at traffic lights); Monitoring of vehicles behaviour (changing lanes, violation of traffic signs, etc.); Monitoring of accidents in tunnels; Supervision of vehicle-to-vehicle safety distances; Bookkeeping of vehicles in open parking-lots; Environmental reports (snow, fog, heavy rain, break-ins). LOTraffic© is able to report data in real-time (through wired or wireless internet connections) for use in traffic control systems or for taking proper countermeasures (i.e. Shooting of pictures upon traffic violations). Alternatively, LOTraffic© can store information for later retrieval. LOTraffic© is a patent-pending, state-of- the-art mechatronic technology that features high reliability, ease of setup and maintenance and low-cost. LOTraffic© provides a wealth of information compared to single function devices (such as inductive loop detectors), while being practically noninvasive. |
LOTraffic© is able to report a wealth of different information about the surrounding environment. |
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Characteristics: Vehicles and pedestrians can be detected along with their geometric characteristics, while their speed and behaviour can be tracked over time. The full range of information is available only when LOTraffic© is installed near the road (or the environment to be sensed) with its field-of-view lying horizontally and parallel to the road. Although LOTraffic© is a relatively low-power device, it requires a steady and-for an embedded system-hefty amount of electricity. This fact implies that a mobile, autonomous deployment of LOTraffic© can be attained only with a sufficient amount of battery power. Wherever a bulky concrete-made installation is not suitable, it may be worthwhile to consider an in-car setup, which would provide mobility and ease-of use. Some situations do not allow LOTraffic© to be installed in the proximity of the road. This could be due to the logistics of the location or to the environment being high-risk with respect to vandalistic break-ins. In such cases LOTraffic© can be installed on some support allowing for an oblique overview of the underlying road. In such a configuration, the tracking range is heavily reduced. Nevertheless, geometric characteristics, speed and some reduced behaviour-based information can be extracted and reported. Other situations require LOTraffic© to deliver "standard" yet high-quality flow and velocity measurements, while discarding behaviour-based information. Tunnels and highways may represent typical examples. In these cases, the sensor can be installed vertically over the lanes with an oblique orientation. This configuration allows for the extraction of flow, geometry and velocity information while being practically noninvasive. |
LOTraffic© is a sensor system tar- geted at pervasive traffic monitoring and whose magic is performed through a clever combination of software modules. |
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Advantages: The software modules can be custom-composed in order to provide a solution that matches the monitoring requirements. Users can start using LOTraffic© for generic measurements of traffic flow and later deploy a more complex behavioural analysis at a later point. The custom-composition of software modules provides unlimited flexibility and lower investment. In fact, once new modules or improved versions of older ones are made available, the end-user can upgrade LOTraffic© for augmented or more reliable functionality. LOTraffic© capabilities are highly dependent on its placement. The matrix below highlights the software modules that can be installed on LOTraffic©, depending on its placement and which degree of reliability they provide (darker marks are better). Additional application packages that can be built on top of the tracking framework will be made available at a later time. Similarly, the reliability of the application and framework is expected to steadily improve over time. LogObject is committed to provide best-of-breed performance for all of the functions. Compared to a conventional flow measurement system (inductive-loop wire) or to a velocity measurement system (Doppler radar) LOTraffic© delivers a wealth of information about its surrounding environment. Moreover the quality of the measurements (in its optimal placement) is stunning, while maintaining an unparalleled ease-of-setup and use. The table below illustrates the current degree of reliability of some of the most important data extracted by LOTraffic©. The performance of the application and framework is expected to steadily improve over time. LOTraffic© Specs
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Swiss Technology Award 2005
LogObject's LOTraffic© has been chosen as a Swiss Technology Award 2005 laureate, for its innovation factor as well as its market potential. The Swiss Technology Award product presentation flyer can be downloaded by following this link. Adobe Acrobat is required for displaying the document.
LOTraffic© Flyer
This presentation flyer describes LOTraffic©, its features and advantages, as well as listing some of the most important reference installations. The flyer is available in German and English. Adobe Acrobat is required for displaying the documents.
LOTraffic© Example Trajectory Plot
This example shows a beautifully rendered superimposed trajectory plot generated by LOTraffic©. Similar drawings can be freely created from recorded trajectory information. The illustration can be downloaded by following this link. Adobe Acrobat is required for displaying the documents.
LOTraffic© Animation
This computer animation illustrates how the sensor works, where it can be installed and what kind of traffic data can be extracted. The animation can be downloaded by following this link. The movie requires Apple QuickTime for proper viewing.
LOTraffic© Kassensturz Movie
This movie has been produced by SFDRS Kassensturz for their coverage of road safety, traffic measurement and flow control. The film excerpt can be downloaded by following this link. The movie requires Apple QuickTime for proper viewing.
