One of the USA’s leaders in video image processing technology for advanced traffic management, Image Sensing Systems Inc. (ISS), has revealed that its ISS Labs division is currently engaged in a number of transportation innovation projects with State and Federal Departments of Transportation (DOTs) across the country.
The ISS Labs’ projects are supporting both national and state DOTs to introduce and evaluate new technology solutions to solve specific safety and efficiency traffic problems. Founded in 1984 by Dr Panos Michalopoulos, ISS is a provider of above ground detection and information management equipment for the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) sector.
The company’s leading products include the Autoscope video detection family and the RTMS radar detection family. In 2013, Michalopoulos created ISS Lab with the mission of strengthening technological and market leadership by identifying and capitalizing on recent innovations and emerging trends applied to the traffic management markets.
Led by Dr Saad Bedros, ISS Labs aims to develop partnerships and alliances with key leaders in academia, research centers, consultants, technology suppliers and integrators. These key alliances influence the development of new technologies, and solutions that provide the marketplace with leading-edge technology to solve smart city problems.
ISS Labs currently has a number of projects underway with state and federal DOTs, ranging from pedestrian safety to connected vehicles and situation awareness at intersections. All of its projects are using machine learning and embedded sensor processing to provide actionable data for solving traffic challenges.
ISS Labs recently partnered with AECOM and completed a project with Minnesota DOT on enhanced speed compliance for work zones on heavily traveled divided highways. These present problems to motorists in the form of traffic delays and increased crash risks, and speeding has long been considered a major cause of crashes within work zones. The objective of the project is to: save lives; improve driver and worker safety; enhance the safety and efficiency of state patrol officers; reduce work zone crash severity, injuries and property damage; and enhance mobility of the work zone. ISS Labs provided the sensor processing system on a mobile trailer to assist in the achievement of these objectives by integrating and presenting video and radar tracking information, and presenting it to the state patrol agent for targeted speed enforcement.
The system was deployed and tested in a work zone location along the heavily traveled Interstate 35E in the Minneapolis/St Paul area. The system used the company’s hybrid radar and video Autoscope Duo sensor platform to capture visual and speed information that was sent wirelessly via cellular communications in real time to the Minnesota State Patrol vehicle. The use of this system saw an overall reduction in speed violators during the enforcement period of the project.
“Our participation in this project aligns with the overall mission of this research and development team,” said Bedros, manager of ISS Labs. “As a technology company it is vital for us to stay abreast of disruptive changes in technology and intelligent transportation systems trends and market requirements so that we can strengthen and grow our market leadership.”
