Sensors Track Traffic Flow On 'Smart' California Corridor
By Laurie Sullivan, TechWeb News
October 25, 2005 (1:50 PM EDT)
URL: http://www.techweb.com/wire/172900209
Sensors embedded in asphalt on major highways and video cameras at intersections off the Interstate 580 Smart Corridor in the city of Dublin, Calif., will soon transmit data on traffic flow to the city's Traffic Operations Center, officials told TechWeb on Tuesday. The improvements are part of a Smart Corridor Initiative by The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to improve traffic on the Bay area's clogged roadways.
Dublin is expecting high-traffic on roadways connecting I-850 with intersections leading into the site where Ikea will build a new retail store, scheduled to open in 2007. The city will install at about four intersections along I-580 several layers of sensors. They'll be placed underground at 400-feet, 250 feet, and 55 feet from the center of the intersection. "From previous experience at other Ikea stores in the Bay, we know traffic patterns on these roads can get really messy, especially on Saturday," said Ray Kuzbari, the traffic engineer for the city of Dublin.
The sensors pick-up vibrations from cars traveling on the roadway to help assess traffic demand and determine the correct length of time a light should remain green. They will communicate with video cameras that Cornet Technology Inc.'s Video Convergence division will install. The data and video will stream across an Internet protocol network over fiber cable system to Dublin's Traffic Operations Center, where the video and data will be achieved and analyzed to determine if streets require widening or traffic signal lights adjusted and retimed to prepare for Ikea's new store.
The city of Dublin will shell-out about $160,000 to Cornet Technology to map out the project and install cameras and about one-half mile of new fiber cables to provide communications between the intersections and Dublin's Traffic Operations Center. Video optical transceivers and data optical transceivers will monitor four new traffic signals via a closed-circuit television surveillance system with cameras made by Cohu.
The video cameras have 360-degree pan-tilt-and-zoom capabilities and are positioned about 60 feet above the street on metal poles. Pre-set positions based on the time of day program the cameras to move automatically throughout the day to view specific pieces of the intersection and transmit pictures at 38,400 megabits per second through fiber cables. The data and video is fed into Naztec Inc.'s Streetwise software that runs on a centralized computer system at Dublin's city hall.
The sensors and traffic signals are an additional cost. Kuzbari estimates the price for each wire loop of sensors is between $350 and $500. In a busy four-lane intersection, for example, there are up to 40 sensors embedded in the ground, and some have more than one loop. "Potentially you could end up with as many as 100 loops of sensors at a cost of $350 each," Kuzbari said. "The streets surrounding Ikea's new store are under construction to install fiber cables and traffic signals, but the sensors and camera won't be installed until later this year, and we'll integrate the system into our computer software around mid 2006."
Caltrans established the Smart Corridor Initiative to battle a growing traffic problem and is funding the upgrade to a more advanced traffic management system throughout the Bay area. The technology already is installed at various intersections in three northern California cities Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore within Alameda County. The project was made possibly through a federal grant for $3.5 million about two years ago.
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