Video Camera Road Section Subdivision for Safety Distance Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for determining the safety distance between vehicles on roads and motorways are complex, costly, and lack simplicity in identifying vehicles that do not maintain the prescribed safety distance, especially in tunnels where traditional monitoring systems are inadequate.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus using multiple video cameras to subdivide road sections into subsections and cells, with a processing unit that analyzes video signals to detect vehicle presence and measure distance, providing documentary evidence of contraventions, and incorporating a number plate recording camera for identification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional monitoring systems are used to determine safety distance between vehicles, then measurement capability is provided, but the system becomes complex and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The road section is divided into multiple subsections, with each subsection further divided into multiple cells. This segmentation allows the system to determine vehicle presence in specific spatial zones, enabling accurate safety distance measurement through a simpler grid-based approach rather than continuous monitoring of the entire road section.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses video cameras to capture images of vehicles and creates a digital representation of the road section with subsections and cells. This optical copying approach replaces complex physical monitoring infrastructure with visual data processing, reducing device complexity while maintaining measurement precision.
2Measurement precision
If traditional monitoring systems are used to determine safety distance between vehicles, then measurement capability is provided, but the cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs standard video cameras and image processing techniques that are relatively inexpensive compared to traditional automotive-grade monitoring systems. The use of off-the-shelf imaging equipment and software-based analysis reduces manufacturing costs while achieving the required measurement precision for safety distance determination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical or electronic monitoring systems with an optical-based video imaging system. By using cameras to capture vehicle positions and processing images to determine distances, the system achieves accurate measurement at lower cost by substituting mechanical infrastructure with optical sensing and computational analysis.
3Ease of operation
If video cameras are used to monitor road sections, then vehicle presence detection is enabled, but difficulty in identifying specific vehicles increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces number plate recording cameras as an intermediary system. When a vehicle is detected in a specific cell, the corresponding number plate camera captures the vehicle's identification. This intermediary approach links general vehicle detection with specific identification without requiring the main monitoring system to directly recognize vehicles.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a digital map of the road section with subsections and cells, and uses video cameras to capture images of vehicles. By copying visual information and processing it through image analysis, the system can detect vehicle presence and identify specific vehicles through their number plates, transforming visual data into actionable identification information.
Data Source
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AI summary
The method comprises the operations of: acquiring by means of a plurality of video cameras (3) equally spaced along a road section (10) a plurality of images each relating to a respective subsection (12) of the road section (10); verifying the entry of a first vehicle (1) into the road section (10); processing the images of all the subsections of road (12) in order to check whether at the moment of entry of a first vehicle (1) into the road section (10) there is present within the section a second vehicle (2) which precedes the first vehicle (1) by a distance that is less than a prescribed safety distance; and acquiring and storing an image of the number plate of the first vehicle (1) if the presence of the second vehicle (2) within the road section (10) has been detected and the distance between the vehicles (1, 2) is less than the safety distance.