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Stemmer Imaging has announced the VTR3, a compact, integrated enclosure for traffic monitoring applications, complete with camera, lens and high brightness infrared or white LED lighting technology. The unit's high-brightness strobed LED illumination source from Gardasoft Vision is designed for ANPR applications such as car park entry/exit or average speed installations spanning many lanes. The lights can strobe in sync with a free running camera, or they can accept an external trigger signal to synchronise

Sony Europe's Image Sensing Solutions division has extended its XCG range of GigE machine vision cameras with the launch of the XCG-H280E. According to the company, its resolution, high frame rate and ability to work in low light conditions make the camera module ideally suited to ITS applications, where image quality, sensitivity and speed are paramount. The camera module implements the ICX-674 full HD resolution CCD sensor, capable of running at up to 50fps and is the first sensor to benefit from Sony's n

Cortech Developments has launched Datalog 5 for Windows 7 to allow organisations to integrate building, fire, and security control technology into a single, easy-tooperate solution. Multiple sites can be integrated into a central management suite whilst operators are still able to monitor and manage each sub system, such as access control, perimeter and intruder sensors, intercoms, CCTV cameras and DVRs, radio paging and more, straight from the system. Datalog 5 can further be configured to automatically re

The U-blox 6 GPS receiver platform has been upgraded to provide improved sensitivity, significantly lower power consumption, improved antijamming performance, jamming detection and shorter Time To First Fix (TTFF). Most importantly, the company says the new firmware delivers improved tracking sensitivity down to -162dBm with enhanced acquisition and re-acquisition sensitivity. U-blox claims that not only does this make the chip one of the most sensitive receivers on the market, but GPS can now deliver posit

Sensys Networks has announced a major upgrade to TrafficDOT that includes a redesigned graphical user interface which greatly simplifies all aspects of VDS240 wireless vehicle detection system configuration, monitoring and diagnostics. Hardware iconography for sensors, access points, repeaters and contact closure cards enable 'drag and drop' design capabilities, autoconfiguration of time slots and double-click functionality to instantly configure components and RF paths. Sensys Networks says that improved s

One of the biggest problems facing US ITS professionals, says Georgia DOT's Hugh Colton, is the constrained thinking which is sometimes forced upon those making procurement decisions. It is time, he says, to look again at how we do things. In the November/December 2010 edition of this journal, Pete Goldin interviewed Joseph Sussman, chairman of the US's ITS Program Advisory Committee. Amongst other observations that Sussman made was that, technologically, ITS in the US is 10 years behind that in the world-l

The new UHF EPC Gen 2 reader model XT-3 from TagMaster, a long-range RFID reader, is designed for outdoor installations classified for IP-65 levels of ingression protection.

Pelco has expanded its line of viewing solutions to include new narrow bezel LCD monitors. With full high-definition 1,920x1,080p resolution and edges that range from just 9.6 mm to 17.4 mm, these monitors can be tiled together to create a virtually seamless video wall.

Austria-headquartered Efkon has announced its latest innovation - the Image to Information (I-to-I) Reader, an innovative product which builds on established technology. Although the new device weighs a mere 1.0kg, it incorporates two cameras, a flash, computer, communications unit and power supply in a package small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. Moreover, the I-to-I Reader requires only a standard cable for data and power connection. Despite its compact appearance, Efkon says there is no compromise

David Crawford detects a market for European experience. Well-established now in at least three European countries, Hard Shoulder Running (HSR) on motorways is exciting growing interest in the US. A November 2010 Report to Congress by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), on the Efficient Use of Highway Capacity, notes the role of HSR in the European-style Active Traffic Management (ATM) strategies now being recommended for implementation in the US where, until recently, they were virtually unknown.

Guillaume Ponsar, tunnel safety engineer with Egis Road Operation, writes about the advantages to be gained from the use of tunnel simulators. Major tunnel disasters over the last decade and more have shown how swiftly and badly a simple crash or fire may evolve should the wrong actions be taken by control room operators or traffic managers. Global safety issues and the reactions of operations staff have now become the principal concerns for Operations and Maintenance (O&M) service providers. As a result, n

In Sweden, marketing company DDB Stockholm employed a mock speed camera as part of a promotional campaign for automotive manufacturer Volkswagen. The result was worldwide online interest and promotion of the debate over excessive speed to the national level. A developing trend in traffic management policy is to look at how to induce road users to modify their behaviour by incentivising change rather than forcing it through the application of penalties. There have been several studies conducted into this; an

The new Hindhead Tunnel is the first in the UK to use radar-based incident detection. Paul Arnold, project manager with the Highways Agency, talks about the project. The comparatively remote location of the A3 Hindhead Tunnel has resulted in it becoming one of the most sophisticated in the UK in terms of monitoring and control systems, according to Paul Arnold, project manager for the Highways Agency (HA), which manages strategic roads in England and Wales. It is the first tunnel in the UK to use radar for

Paul van Koningsbruggen and Dave Marples of Technolution BV describe, using a national example from the Netherlands, how smart add-ons to traffic control centres combine to increase cross-centre capabilities and cost-efficiency. Increasingly, traffic management is becoming the natural partner of the civil engineer, improving flows over existing infrastructure to deliver an alternative to laying more blacktop. As in any emerging market, the first steps towards mature traffic management have not necessarily r

Transport for Greater Manchester's David Hytch discusses the evolving roles of the public and private sector in managing and disseminating data. Data services for traffic management were once the sole preserve of public sector organisations, they being uniquely placed and equipped for the work involved. Now, though, this is changing. There is even a presumption in some countries that the private sector will take a greater, if not actually a lead, role in the provision of information for transport management

Trevor Ellis, chairman of the ITS UK Enforcement Interest Group, considers the role of ongoing driver training in increasing compliance. It is over 30 years since I passed my driving test. The world was quite a different place then, in that there were only half the vehicles there are now on the UK's roads, mobile phones did not really exist and (in the UK at least) the vast majority of us drove cars which by today's standards exhibited dreadful dynamic stability and were woefully underpowered.

Geoff Collins of Vysionics Intelligent Traffic Solutions talks about the near-term prospects of ANPR. The continued absence of a champion for its cause is preventing digital enforcement technology from delivering the true levels of cost-effectiveness of which it is capable, according to Geoff Collins, sales and marketing director of ANPR specialist Vysionics Intelligent Traffic Solutions.

Paul Bridge at Vaisala describes a new cost-benefit tool to help road managers and road users

Do cooperative infrastructures offer a ready solution for automated enforcement? If we accept that enforcement is all about safety and not revenue generation, then it is perhaps time to start looking at just what cooperative infrastructures will have to offer. Identification, verification, preserving the evidence chain... all the current headaches of effective automated enforcement could perceivably be solved by the technologies and protocols encompassed by two-way communications between infrastructure and

The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland's Pekka Leviäkangas writes about the initial results of the EWENT project, which was set up to research the effects of severe weather on the European transport network. The European EWENT (Extreme Weather impacts on European Networks of Transport) project, financed by the European Commission under 7th Framework Programme for Research, recently issued its first Work Package (WP1) report. This is a review of extreme weather phenomena and their effects on the Europe