Toll Validation via Wireless Beacon and Optical Cross-Verification
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle tolling systems face challenges in accurately identifying and validating vehicles due to reliance on artificial vision, which is prone to errors from environmental conditions and the complexity of third-party registration systems, leading to potential fraud and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
An automated computational method using a fixed wireless device and optical means to validate vehicle passage through tolls, where a mobile device receives a wireless beacon and sends a validation message to a remote backend server, correlating with images taken by optical means to determine vehicle validity, allowing for offline operation and broader device accessibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If artificial vision systems with cameras are used to identify vehicles at tolls, then vehicle identification is achieved, but the system is prone to errors due to environmental conditions, license plate readability issues, and high vehicle speeds
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides vehicle identification into two independent segments: optical recognition of license plates and wireless beacon detection from mobile devices. Each segment operates independently and their results are cross-validated, so that failures in one segment (e.g., optical recognition due to environmental conditions) do not necessarily lead to identification errors, as the other segment can compensate.
Solution Approach 2:
A wireless beacon acts as an intermediary carrier of vehicle identification information. Instead of relying solely on direct optical vision which is affected by environmental factors, the system introduces wireless beacons emitted by mobile devices in vehicles as an intermediate information channel, which is not affected by visual environmental conditions.
2Ease of operation
If application-specific devices are required for vehicle registration with the highway operator, then direct identification and toll charging is enabled, but the system complexity increases and user accessibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses universal mobile devices (smartphones, tablets) that users already possess, instead of requiring specialized application-specific devices. These universal devices serve multiple functions: they contain unique identifiers, emit wireless beacons for identification, and can run validation applications, thereby eliminating the need for dedicated toll system hardware and reducing both system complexity and barriers to user access.
Solution Approach 2:
Users leverage their own mobile devices which already contain unique identifiers and capabilities for wireless communication. The mobile device itself serves the identification function without requiring additional specialized hardware to be provided or installed by the toll system, thereby simplifying the overall system architecture.
3Ease of operation
If third-party companies are involved in vehicle registration and toll payment, then no application-specific devices are required, but the system becomes more complex and more prone to fraud
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the optical recognition system and wireless beacon detection system cross-validate each other's results. The optical system provides feedback on vehicle identification while the wireless beacon system provides feedback on device identification, and their correspondence is verified. This mutual feedback and cross-validation create a reliable fraud-resistant mechanism that does not require third-party intermediaries.
4Productivity
If optical means are used to capture vehicle images at tolls, then vehicle identification is achieved, but the system fails when vehicles pass at high speeds or under poor environmental conditions
Solution Approach 1:
Mobile devices in vehicles perform preliminary identification actions by emitting wireless beacons containing unique identifiers before the vehicle reaches the toll point. This preliminary wireless identification occurs independently of the optical system's ability to capture clear images, allowing the system to prepare for toll processing even when optical recognition might fail due to high speed or environmental conditions.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure is enclosed in the area of validation of vehicles in road tolls, which may also be designated as tolling systems. The present disclosure includes an automated computational method for the determination of the validity of the passage of a vehicle in a toll which includes two detection modes of a vehicle, through optical means and a mobile device receiving a wireless beacon with unique information associated with the toll and subsequently in connection with a remote backend server. The wireless beacon is a simple type of message which does not require that the mobile device and a fixed wireless device establish a connection. Such feature is one particularly relevant in the applications of the present disclosure, as it highly improves the efficacy of the receipt of the unique information associated with the toll by the mobile device. The present disclosure further includes a corresponding system.