BackFactors such as high demographic growth and rapid urbanization in developing countries, and government initiatives for traffic management under smart city models are some of the factors driving the traffic management market.
With ever-increasing numbers of vehicles causing congestion within city centers and on highways and motorways, local authorities are under increasing pressure to react quickly and effectively to any traffic incidents, as well as anticipate when traffic jams will occur.
Video surveillance and video analytics are becoming increasingly powerful tools to meet these needs. The fast proliferation of video cameras, the technology maturity of video analytics, and, last but not least, the high cost of human operators and the high rate of overlooked events, are some of the driving factors of the rapid growth of video intelligent solutions for traffic applications.
The surveillance camera is an innovative and extremely useful technology in traffic monitoring and control. These cameras can record traffic patterns, observe and monitor traffic flow, providing valuable data for transportation authorities, as the footage captured is influential in decisions regarding the future development and traffic planning.
Video surveillance specialists Hanwha Techwin and video analytics experts Sprinx Technologies have combined their expertise to offer a complete, easy to deploy, and affordable traffic event detection and reporting solution. The Automatic Incident Detection and Traffic Data Collection (AID) application from Sprinx Technologies are now able to run on-board all Hanwha Techwin Wisenet X cameras and as a result, the ability to detect incidents and keep traffic on the move has been significantly enhanced.
The Intelligent Traffic Camera Solution
The new Wisenet X camera with on-board Sprinx Traffic AID application is a vision system that, apart from image capture circuitry, is capable of extracting specific information from the captured images, generating event descriptions that can be used in an intelligent and automated system. The Sprinx Traffic AID application on-board Wisenet X cameras offers distinctive advantages over normal cameras by performing not just image capture but also image analysis and event detection.
AID utilizes intelligent image processing to quickly alert operators about traffic incidents and queuing and, at the same time, enables the collection of statistical data such as vehicle classification, counting and flow to be recorded. An Origin-Destination Matrix (OD) feature highlights traffic conditions at busy city center crossroads and roundabouts with simultaneous monitoring of different lanes. It also detects wrong-way drivers and smoke in tunnels.
AID can be relied on to generate an alert when traffic incidents occur, as well as when traffic is slowing down or if there is a lengthening queue. It will also detect if a vehicle has illegally stopped or broken down on a busy main road if there is a wrong-way driver, a pedestrian walks in a restricted area, or if there is smoke or low visibility in a tunnel.
AID’s intuitive web user interface enables operators to specify detection zones and parameters and to analyze statistical data via easy eye graphics and charts. An Event Journal provides a log of all events and snapshots of individual incidents.
Traffic Managers can choose from any of Hanwha Techwin’s extensive range of weatherproof and vandal resistant Wisenet X cameras and be assured they are fully compatible with the Sprinx Traffic AID software. This is because the massive processing power of the chipset at the heart of the Wisenet X cameras means AID is always able to work at peak performance to provide accurate, intelligent traffic management information when it is needed most.
3D Tracking for Traffic Detection
The commonly used 2D tracking systems track objects that move on the image plane regardless of their location in the real world or interaction with the surrounding environment. Most of the video AID systems are based on this more simplistic approach. In contrast, 3D tracking aims to reconstruct information about object movement in the real world through the 3D modeling of their trajectory. This more realistic 3D approach in video AID systems enables a reduction in the number of false alarms. In addition, it is easier to configure the video AID system because of its relation to the real world through the use of perspective. This new approach available in all the ranges of Sprinx’s AID software, server-side and at-the-edge, combined with the accuracy and the precision of the implemented algorithms, is of real added value to most video traffic applications.
Intelligent CCTV Cameras
The possibility to install intelligence onboard standard CCTV cameras is invaluable because it combines with the demand for cost-effective solutions.
There are currently not many cameras on the market that enable the integration of third-party applications and only a few of them have adequate power to run onboard all the AID algorithms simultaneously.
The Wisenet X series of cameras from Hanwha Techwin incorporates a number of features that make the device ideally suited to the challenges of traffic monitoring such as harsh lighting, motion blur and image noise. Wisenet X H.265 open platform cameras are equipped to deliver a supercharged performance with twice as fast video processing as you would expect in high-definition cameras, complete with three times more memory to handle enhanced onboard video and audio analytics. Specific models are also equipped with gyro sensors that provide more accurate stabilization to combat wind or vibrations. Other key features include highly efficient network transmission and dual SD slots to provide the potential of 512GB onboard data or video storage.
Traffic Event Integration
Onboard intelligence in cameras facilitates the local deployment of smart sensors that can interface and integrate easily and flexibly across the network.
Sprinx Traffic AID application sends an event notification to third-party systems to alert operators and trigger video recording, and it is fully integrated with Smart Security Manager (SSM), Hanwha Techwin’s video management software.
Technology Leadership
“Across Europe we are increasingly being entrusted to provide video surveillance solutions for a wide range of critical infrastructure projects, including the monitoring of activity in tunnels,” said Tim Biddulph, Head of Product and Solutions for Hanwha Techwin Europe. “Our partnership with Sprinx Technologies is underpinning our ability to provide world-class solutions which are easy to implement and use for these applications. It is an excellent example of how we are always looking for new opportunities to capitalize on the open platform capabilities of Wisenet cameras to deliver video surveillance solutions which offer real-life operational benefits to our customers.”