Kapsch TrafficCom has revealed that it is supporting Canada’s Area X.O research and development complex with state-of-the-art connected vehicle solutions including hardware and software to improve road safety for smart intersections and railroad crossings.
Based in Ottawa, Canada and operated by Invest Ottawa, Area X.O is a private research and development facility that enables and accelerates the safe and secure development, testing, and application of next-generation technologies.
Kapsch TrafficCom’s hardware, including roadside units (RSU) and onboard units (OBU), is being used to test different connected vehicle use cases, including autonomous driving features, at Area X.O, as well as at the public innovation facility in Kanata North, which features a smart intersection.
As intersections are the most dangerous traffic infrastructure elements for vulnerable road users, they are critical for safety-related connected vehicle-use cases, Kapsch noted.
“Connected vehicle technology is making road traffic safer and more comfortable, and the integration of our equipment with technology by other providers is a vital step in the right direction,” said JB Kendrick, VP North America, Kapsch TrafficCom. “To realize the enormous safety potential of this technology, cooperation is key.”
In partnership with Kapsch TrafficCom and Blackberry Certicom, the team was successfully able to enroll the Kapsch V2X roadside and onboard units with Certicom’s Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Security Credential Management System (SCMS). This solution helps safeguard the cybersecurity posture for V2X communications, and advance secure deployments for connected mobility solutions with municipalities.
The system is managed by the Kapsch Connected Mobility Control Center (CMCC), a software application that allows the road operator to oversee all connected vehicle system assets from a central platform and to configure them remotely. The CMCC further allows Area X.O, the City of Ottawa, and other partners to capture data generated within the corridor for usage by other transportation systems or after-the-fact analysis.
The Area X.O collaboration with Kapsch TrafficCom has enabled a V2X test bed infrastructure for controlled use case testing and activated an operational data exchange for V2X communications between various infrastructure locations, vehicles, and road users.
“In a multi-modal and a connected traffic environment, it is imperative to perform end-to-end system integrations to test the most safety-critical use case scenarios in the real-world,” explained Divyanshu Kamboj, strategic technology and testing director, Area X.O. “Kapsch’s technology offering has accelerated our implementation of V2X test frameworks to validate improvements in road safety using machine vision sensor technologies.”
Beginning in Summer of 2023, Kapsch TrafficCom will also provide Vulnerable Road User (VRU) and Stopped Vehicle Detection at railway crossings. Any traffic congestion on the road adjacent to the railway crossing will also be detected by the system.
The technology, which is based on the AI-driven Deep Learning Versatile Platform (DLVP), is using cameras to automatically detect vehicles, pedestrians and queue building on the railroad tracks and adjacent roads and inform transportation officers to improve safety and mobility.
This safety-critical information will also be distributed in real-time directly into nearby vehicles via the connected vehicle technology playing a significant role in enhancing situational awareness at intersections, which can ultimately increase road safety for all road users. This means that drivers are aware of potentially dangerous situations faster and can make better-informed decisions, leading to safer traffic for all participants.
