The SVR-500 stopped vehicle detection (SVD) radar scans the full 360 degrees to rapidly detect stopped vehicles and debris on any carriageway. It measures a vehicle’s range and instantaneous speed on each scan, avoiding the need for error-prone tracking routines. Detection zones are configured easily to set up different carriageways, slip roads, emergency areas and hard shoulders, as well as defining areas of no interest. In addition to reporting location data for the stopped vehicle, the SVR-500 can take automatic control of a CCTV camera, pointing it at the incident. This reduces operator workload for the fastest response.
- Total coverage 500 metres (250m in all directions)
- Rapid detection, typically <20 seconds
- All weather performance
- Minimal blind spot underneath sensor
- Scans all carriageways
- Detects all types of car, van, truck & motorcycle
- No annual licensing fees or hidden costs
- Can be installed at height
- Automatic control of PTZ camera
- No external signal processing required
The SVR-500 roadside radar operates autonomously using self-contained detection and processing hardware. There is no need for external signal processing equipment, thereby minimising the complexity and communication requirements. Single-point failures are mitigated because each radar operates independently. To see over tall vehicles, SVR-500 can be mounted 10 metres high. Vehicles that stop almost directly below the radar are also detected due to the fan-beam antenna.
The equipment uses a number of innovative technologies to provide very high performance. The core 24GHz radar hardware has been developed and proven over many years of trials in highway and other environments to provide a high reliability under the most demanding of conditions. Our radar operates in all weather conditions and in any light level, therefore overcoming the operating issues that affect LIDAR and optical sensors.
Cost Effective SVD
The radar incorporates the firmware required for integration and control of a compatible ONVIF compliant PTZ camera. Radar output data is documented and available to use with other systems via standard interfaces. No external signal processing equipment is required for the radar to function. There are no hidden costs and no annual licensing fees.
Simple Installation
Road-side work is kept to a minimum to reduce the duration of any lane closures.
The radar is easier to mount than a standard PTZ IP camera because it is typically lighter and has no external moving parts. It uses the standard 101.6mm PCD mounting arrangement used by professional CCTV cameras so off-the-shelf brackets are readily available. There is no need for time-consuming precise adjustments to match the slope of the road because of the wide elevation coverage of the SVR-500 fan-beam antenna. Only very approximate alignment is necessary during installation as fine tuning can be done later using software, away from the road side. The radar only requires a network cable connection and optional 24V DC power supply to operate.
Quick Commissioning
The commissioning process, which includes the precise configuration of the radar coverage areas to match the road geography and the configuration of a paired PTZ camera (if required) is done in the back office over the network using a simple, intuitive GUI interface on a web browser, which normally takes less than an hour in total.
A satellite map is displayed to aid the definition of carriageways and emergency stopping areas. Radar location and orientation can be confirmed by checking the live radar data corresponds to the topography of the location. The brightness of the display can be adjusted to make it easy to pick out fixed parts of the landscape.
Moving vehicles appear as moving bright dots so the relative position and extent of carriageways is obvious at a glance. Using this procedure it is very quick and intuitive to confirm the detection areas are correct.
Configure CCTV Cameras With Ease
If a camera needs to be controlled by the radar a simple alignment technique is available. Simply point the camera at a prominent feature such as a lamp post then select the same feature on the live radar data plot. The radar will then know exactly how to pan the camera to point in the correct direction. Lamp posts appear as bright spots that do not move, so are easy to distinguish from moving vehicles.
Processing Concept
The vehicle’s speed is measured on every scan, avoiding the need to maintain accurate tracking from scan-to-scan. This reduces the errors that occur when a vehicle is temporarily obscured behind another vehicle, which can reduce the detection probability and increase the false alarm rate. The system detects large debris and stray objects, such as traffic cones, that present a hazard to vehicles. 100% of the signal processing is performed by each radar sensor allowing low bandwidth communication infrastructure to be utilised, ideal for mobile systems.
Operating Frequency
By using the Worldwide license-exempt 24 GHz ISM frequency band there are no annual license fees to pay. Vehicle-fitted adaptive cruise control radars use a standard frequency band at 77GHz, so there is no interference between the two systems.
24 GHz radar signals are able to see through smoke even within tunnel environments.
Blindspot Elimination
Unlike other automatic incident detection systems that have large blind spots, SVR-500 has no need to infer the presence of vehicles, thus eliminating a major source for missed detections and false alarms. Due to the special antenna arrangement the radar positively detects objects at extremely close range (almost directly underneath the sensor) so the blind spot is effectively eliminated. Additionally, the antenna beam shape is designed to cope with height variations of the road, eliminating the need for precise mechanical tilt adjustments during installation.
Temporary Traffic Mangement
Currently, most Temporary Traffic Management (TTM) systems rely on humans watching banks of CCTV monitors to manually spot breakdowns and collisions. This requires a large number of fixed cameras as well as impossibly high human vigilance.
TTM systems using SVR-500 radars automatically monitor all lanes including contraflows. When SVR-500 detects a stranded vehicle, it automatically moves a PTZ camera to point at the affected area. An alert message is generated showing the precise location alongside video footage to determine the nature of the incident.
Compared to 24-hour manned CCTV, SVR-500 is more cost effective and more reliable with high detection probability and excellent system availability. Rather than having teams of people continually staring at screens, SVR-500 allows a single operator to oversee many kilometres of roadworks.
The radars do the hard work, leaving the Traffic Safety and Control Officer (TSCO) to focus on the incident at hand to restore traffic flow in a timely and safe manner.
Traffic Jam Detection
The SVR-500 can determine when a traffic jam has formed, and uses this information to prevent repeated nuisance alarms from being raised. In the event of a breakdown during the traffic jam, the stranded vehicle will be detected correctly when the congestion has cleared and traffic starts to flow again.
Data outputs
Standard data interface is Ethernet using HTTP, SSL or SSH protocols. The basic data requirements are low, suitable for remote sites with low-bandwidth infrastructure:
4 kB per alarm event to send position and time stamp.
2 kB to provide the built in test results (if required).
The output data from each radar can be customised to integrate with third-party equipment, such as traffic management systems and smart motorways for partial or full autonomy. Additional pan, tilt and zoom data can be provided to drive a local ONVIF camera onto the stopped vehicle. Raw radar data can also be output although this will only be necessary for special applications and requires substantially more bandwidth than the basic messaging.