With the onset of A.I. and amid the rapid technological transformation that all industries are undergoing right now, the way we travel, operate our vehicles, and ensure safety on our roads is transforming at an equally mind-boggling speed. Autonomous and connected vehicles, as well as new automated traffic enforcement and safety solutions are on the rise, utilizing generative A.I. and machine learning. As a provider of complete enforcement systems, Elovate is committed to staying ahead of the curve, and, together with our partners, function as early adopters and pioneers for smarter road safety infrastructure in a forever-changing reality.
Striving towards Vision Zero with the help of generative A.I.
Vision Zero aims to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries from crashes and establish healthy, safe, and equitable mobility for all. While traditional approaches aim for perfect human behavior and individual responsibility to completely prevent collisions, Vision Zero integrates human failure into its system approach and aims to prevent fatal and severe crashes. Implementing intelligent, full-cycle solutions that utilize generative A.I., and are equipped with the latest technology to efficiently tackle existing and new challenges at lower costs than traditional approaches, becomes paramount as we strive to make vision zero our new reality.
Integrated systems that reliably and accurately capture traffic events, assess violations, and process citations require modern hardware and software that can support an intelligent road infrastructure, particularly as automated and connected vehicles become more popular. They also need to be able to address common risks such as seatbelt violations and mobile phone use while driving.
Harnessing the Opportunities and Tackling the Challenges of Autonomous and Connected Vehicles
Together with our hardware partner, VITRONIC, Elovate is ready to embrace the advancement of autonomous and connected driving. On one hand, these vehicles will improve safety as most crashes are being caused by human error, on the other hand, they will come with new risks, especially for pedestrians and cyclists. VITRONIC, the exclusive provider of Elovate’s POLISCAN speed and red-light camera systems, together with the German Research Institute for Traffic Technology and various vehicle manufacturers has been conducting a case study at a busy intersection in the German city of Potsdam. Since 2021, they have been analyzing how automated and connected vehicles can be optimally supported by intelligent infrastructure in even the most complex traffic scenarios. In this “real life laboratory” a Local Traffic Safety Analyzer detects road users while VITRONIC’s Smart Sensor Platform collects the data in compliance with data regulation protection.
An additional system is used as a communication interface for automated and connected vehicles to provide anonymized mobility data. The system was trained to recognize and differentiate between the following dangerous situations such as people on the road, emergency vehicles, or signal violations. The VITRONIC system has been detecting road user behavior and their movement patterns, analyzed potential threats, and developed risk alerts that automated and connected vehicles in return communicate as standardized messages. The system further uses augmented reality to detect hidden road users or obstacles the vehicles at first may not be able to detect. The case study was able to prove that systems and technologies like VITRONIC’s Smart Sensor Platform can be used not only to increase safety for road users, but also contributes to more efficient traffic flow – the data can further be used for optimization of traffic light circuits.
New Risks Require New Enforcement Strategies for Safer Roads
Our partnership to improve road safety worldwide does not stop there. As a leading provider for violation detection, VITRONIC has been developing innovative technologies for A.I.-based seat belt and mobile phone detection. Studies show that in 21 percent of fatal crashes, missing seatbelts were responsible for the fatal outcome and 14 percent of fatal accidents involve the improper use of a cell phone while driving. The advantage of these new, A.I. based technologies: they can be implemented with existing Automated Traffic Enforcement monitoring devices and customized on a per customer basis. Data protection compliance and modern encryption technology ensure privacy when it comes to capturing and processing of images of drivers and passengers.
VITRONIC’s POLISCAN FM1 and automated license plate reading (ALPR) solution fall in line with future trends in traffic enforcement and what existing Elovate clients have been asking us for: customizable solutions not only in regard to seat belt and mobile phone violations, but also for specific speed limits for trucks, wrong lane detection, and urban mobility with a strong focus on environmental tolling. With the advancement of technology, additional services can be added to the hardware our clients are already using today.
As we move into our technological future and prepare for autonomous and connected vehicles as well as new opportunities and challenges they will pose, Elovate and VITRONIC together are ready and prepared to address the safety and sustainability issues our clients will be facing tomorrow.