Automated Speed Enforcement Using Transverse Velocity Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle speed measurement systems face challenges with cosine error in real-life scenarios like curved roads and hilly terrain, and require manual operation, making them unsuitable for automated and unattended use.
Innovation Solution
An automated vehicle speed monitoring system integrating an image capturing unit with a remote sensing device (RADAR or LIDAR) and a controller, which calculates transverse velocity to correct cosine error and issues tickets automatically, allowing unattended operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If hand-held or vehicle-mounted devices are used to detect vehicle speed, then the device can measure the velocity component directly between the device and vehicle, but the device suffers from cosine error in real-life situations such as curved roads, hilly terrain, and devices mounted on the side of the road or overhead gantries
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from measuring only the longitudinal velocity component (one dimension) to measuring both longitudinal and transverse velocity components (two dimensions). By capturing video footage and calculating transverse velocity, the system obtains complete velocity information, allowing accurate speed measurement even when the device is not directly facing the vehicle, thereby eliminating cosine error in curved roads, hilly terrain, and side-mounted configurations.
2Measurement precision
If hand-held or vehicle-mounted devices are used for speed detection, then the device can measure vehicle speed, but the device requires manual operation by a certified officer and cannot operate in an automated and unattended mode
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically detecting vehicles, calculating their speeds using both longitudinal and transverse velocity components, identifying speed violations, and issuing tickets without human intervention. The certified officer's role is reduced to periodic review of system operations, while the system handles continuous monitoring, analysis, and enforcement actions autonomously.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical operation of aiming and operating a radar gun by a certified officer is replaced with an automated electronic system that uses video capture, image processing, and automated radar triggering. The system automatically tracks vehicles, calculates velocities, and executes enforcement actions, substituting human mechanical operations with automated electronic and computational processes.
3Measurement precision
If the remote sensing device continuously monitors all vehicles, then comprehensive speed data can be collected, but the system requires significant processing power and time to analyze all vehicles
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by continuously capturing video footage and pre-calculating transverse velocity components for all vehicles in the scene. This preparation work is done in advance so that when a violation needs to be enforced, the necessary speed data is already available, eliminating the need for real-time calculation during the enforcement decision process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system skips detailed analysis of compliant vehicles by using the pre-calculated transverse velocity data to quickly identify only those vehicles exceeding the speed limit. Instead of thoroughly analyzing every vehicle's speed data, the system rapidly filters and identifies violators, rushing through the enforcement process for non-violators while focusing detailed attention only on problematic cases.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides accurate, unattended vehicle speed measurement and enforcement, reducing cosine error and enhancing resistance to detection, enabling efficient traffic monitoring and violation documentation.
Implementation Method 1
RADAR or 'radar' devices generally utilize radio waves and operate based on the Doppler principle, wherein the frequency of the reflected radiation is shifted according to the relative velocity of the target
Implementation Method 2
LIDAR or 'lidar' devices, on the other hand, utilize a laser beam, typically at infra-red frequency, and compute the relative velocity from a time-of-flight calculation performed on the reflected radiation
Data Source
AI summary
An automated vehicle speed measurement and enforcement method and system. Traffic can be continuously monitored utilizing an image capturing unit and a controller. The speed of one or more vehicles within an effective field of view of the image capturing unit can be estimated. A burst of radiation from an associated remote sensing device can be triggered when a vehicle is detected having a speed greater than a predetermined value. An accurate speed of the vehicle can then be determined. Additionally, a transverse velocity component associated with the vehicle can be computed by the image capturing unit in order to thereafter apply the transverse velocity component to a reading generated by the remote sensing device to correct a cosine error with respect to the remote sensing device.