LOTraffic©

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.

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.