| SMART SENSORS
Above: The
Poliscan product
range performs a
variety of functions
including speed
infringements,
red light violations
and data gathering
to help make
cities smarter
Annual Showcase 2020 | Intertraffic World 161
6.2billion Estimated population of the
world’s cities by 2030, up
from 5.2 billion now
more than measure excessive speeds,
define vehicle classes, capture red
light violations and ensure the
correct use of lanes. They also gather
additional current information about
the configuration of the traffic flow.
In the past, vehicles in traffic were
counted manually. A city employee
would tally the number of vehicles
that passed by on a standardized
form, which was later placed in a
file. Today this can be done digitally,
whereby data is captured in real time
and sent directly to administrators.
The data can be viewed by a city
employee and then sent as statistical
data to the responsible department.
This means that not only city
administration employees can access
and analyze the data, but so can other
stakeholders interested in it. These
stakeholders may want to create
graphics for online media channels,
develop a new traffic app, or
optimize delivery routes.
Traffic monitoring systems can
capture the flow of traffic in different
lanes and in both driving directions.
One area of application in traffic
monitoring in this context would be
the interfacing with other traffic
control systems. This might include
communicating traffic congestion
and offering alternative routes. All
of this information could also be
provided by an app that sends the
user up-to-date traffic information
via push notifications.
Research projects
Sustainability and reducing our
impact on the environment is also
a focus when we talk about smart
environment. The basis for many
activities surrounding these concepts
is laid out in the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), as
defined by the UN member states.
These SDGs were created to
promote sustainable developments
in economic, social and ecological
areas by 2030. In Germany, initiatives
that address the concept known as
the City of the Future are already
underway.
As part of these initiatives, the
Hessian city Darmstadt was named
the model city for digitization. Goals
these SDG initiatives intend to reach
include a resource-optimized
configuration of urban infrastructure
systems, sustainable mobility and
logistics concepts, the integration
of existing public infrastructure
elements in digital solutions – such
as addressing security, protection,
information, communication – and
new sustainable business models for
operating intelligent infrastructures.
Darmstadt’s infrastructure
includes environmental monitoring
stations to provide information
about the quality of the air at the
measurement site, as well as traffic
monitoring systems – Poliscan City
Housing – for speed enforcement
and red light enforcement.
Vitronic is currently working
on a case study entitled ‘Sustainable
Traffic Area Management’ with soonto
be industrial engineers from the
Darmstadt University of Applied
Science. The study uses the data of
existing enforcement infrastructure
for traffic management, combined
with environmental data.
More than just enforcement
The question now is to what extent
the elements already integrated in
the city’s infrastructure – such as
environmental monitoring stations
and speed enforcement systems – can
play a part in supporting the SDG
goals if they are used in a slightly
different way than usual or if
additional measures such as interface
customization for information
content are implemented in an
operating mode that is used
occasionally or temporarily.
Perhaps they could even be
digitally connected. In particular, it
means collecting and using traffic
data captured at the sites where
speed is enforced in an anonymous
format so it can be used in traffic
control and then linked to, for
example, environmental data, to
provide sustainable traffic area
management that improves traffic
flow in the city limits, reduces noise
and air pollution, and therefore
improves the quality of life.
The ongoing research project in
Darmstadt will contribute to raising
the potential of traffic monitoring
solutions by collecting and analyzing
traffic data. In this context, the use
of additional interfaces and sensors
creates added value that is achieved
quickly and can bring more to the
table if they are used in even more
scenarios. With the infrastructure
already there in the urban landscape
they – like other similar elements
such as city street lights – could serve
as a Wi-Fi hotspot, for example.
Important prerequisites to operate
this infrastructure, such as a power
supply, are already in place. ■