Highway Traffic Management System

Phoenix Contact, as a partner to infrastructure industry has developed application specific solutions for the traffic industry with high infrastructure availability, better traffic conditions and timely response to the user requirements as the primary goals.

High availability, reliability and flexibility for your transport infrastructure

The Highway Traffic Management System (HTMS) is an integration of multiple applications functioning together. Users can choose the right modules or all of them as per their requirements and site conditions.

The Metrological data collection and analysis syste

Weather conditions severely affect the driving conditions on road. During the summer the high ambient temperature and fast blowing hot winds can result in higher road temperature and difficult conditions for drivers. During the monsoon, there is wetness on the road and the visibility ahead can be severely hampered. During winter, the icy condition of roads and visibility are the key issues affecting driving.m

The metrological station from Phoenix Contact collects data for wind speed & direction, ambient temperature, road temperature, humidity, rain, illumination and visibility. The system analyses the data in relation to different parameters and interacts with the Central Highway Traffic Management software station with proportional data.

In the event of communication failure with the Central HTMS server, the system is also capable of direct communication with the nearest Toll Management System, the Dynamic Sign Board management System or the Highway light Management system to provide guidance regarding the driving conditions to the user. The modular and scalable system is independent of the sensor manufacturer and can communicate with Central HTMS Server using Lease line, GSM/GPRS, 3G, PSTN, Ethernet, SHDSL Communication, Fiber Optics etc.

Dynamic Sign Board Management System

These are placed on or above the roads to guide the passengers for a safe journey. The system gets information on road and traffic conditions from the intelligent camera based systems from the central control room and also the weather conditions from the weather stations. The solution offers a system suitable for outdoor installation with various communication options of wire, wireless and mobile network for remote communication. The controller controls the sign boards using either IOs or serial communication. The most important feature of the system is that it detects the health of the sign boards and informs the control room for preventive maintenance. The system works in real-time and can take important decisions on speed limits and diversions as required.

In the event of communication failure of the central server the system goes to the default variable values for the various dynamic parameters and logs the data locally. It can also interact with the metrological station and can control the sign boards independently of the central server.

Highway Light Management System

The highway lights provide important assistance to the vehicles during night, low visibility and illumination conditions. High availability of lights on roads is of critical importance during accidents and vehicle breakdown or even in vehicle light failure situations. Phoenix Contact addresses this issue with intelligent light management system for highways. The system consists of a controller at every light tower which is not only capable of scheduling the light operation with its integrated real time clock and calendar functions but also monitors the light health. The light controller then interacts with the feeder station via serial communication. The control system at the feeder station is integrated with the HTMS Server and provides real-time monitoring and control of the system.

The system is capable of informing the maintenance team via SMS in the event of light failure and also provides the energy consumption at every feeder. The offset to the calendar function can be done remotely as and when required from the Central HTMS Server.

Highway Toll Management System

Toll Management system is a combination of multiple sub-systems, namely Gadget Control, Vehicle Classifier & Counter, License Plate Reader Integration, Traffic Signal Light Control, Pump Automation, RFID Integration, Weather Information System and IP Camera Integration.

Vehicle classification and counting is done using three methods: Axle Length measurement system (ALMS), Weight measurement system (WMS), and Image Processing System (IPS).

In ALMS, the controller gets the input from the axle sensors and classifies and counts the system based on a user defined algorithm. In WMS, the load cells installed under the road platform are connected directly to the Strain gauge measurement terminals of the controllers. Based on the vehicle weight, the system classifies and counts the vehicles. In the IPS system, the vehicle is identified with the help of magnetic sensors and the controller activates the image processing camera system. The camera sends the data to the Toll PC where the required processing takes place.

Camera based devices are used for multiple applications in a toll management system like Traffic Condition Monitoring, Vehicle Classification, License plate monitoring, The IP Cameras are installed at strategic points in the toll system as per the field requirements. The Power over Ethernet solutions from Phoenix contact enables user to flexibly take care of the system installation in cost effective manner. The cameras can also be triggered for data capture from the controllers and provides the flexibility to have the optimum usage of the data storages.

The Integrated Solution for toll Plaza consists of Soft PLC integrated on an Industrial PC. All the sensors and gadgets like Tag Reader, Weighbridge, Traffic display system, and Boom Barrier, etc. are connected to the respective booth’s Soft PLC and connected over an ethernet network to the Central Visualization and Data centre. The Soft PLC is well equipped with IT capabilities like Web server, FTP, OPC, SQL, SNTP to have the required interfacing with the centralized data processing system. The Soft PLC requires only few IOs connected on ethernet as all the required serial interfaces are available on board. The same IPC can also be used to run the toll booth software.

Traffic Signal Management System

The Traffic Light Management System consists of a control and monitoring system which not only controls the signal lights and wait timing but also monitors the health status of the system for any overload or failure conditions.

The system can also be scheduled to have default signal status conditions during low traffic durations (during late night or early mornings). The system can be seamlessly integrated with the Highway Traffic Management server for manual override, system configuration and diagnostics. In the case of signal or readout failure the system generates automatic alarm for both central station and maintenance teams. The control system can also function independently or manually based on the specific requirements. The real time clock synchronization with the control room enables the same time stamping over the complete system from various junctions for real time event.

Highway Utility Management System

Highway utility management system consists of Emergency service call box system, Closed Circuit Camera integration system, Public Utility Services management and HTMS networking. The Closed Circuit Camera and Networking systems are in continuous operations while the public utility and Emergency Service call box systems are required to be operational on a need basis.

The Closed Circuit Camera system are mostly ethernet based systems. The complete HTMS networking is done using the multiple Serial to FO converters and GSM / GPRS modems and ethernet switches and FO Converters wherever required. Importantly, all the technologies can work in combination with each other and hence it allows the user to opt for the most flexible network structure for his requirement.

The emergency call boxes and Public utility services are of importance as they are required at the time of inconvenience to the highway user. The high availability of these services are of vital concern. Phoenix Contact offers conditional monitoring and fault alarm system for the same. The system can not only generate local visual and audio alarms but also provide alarms via network over serial / ethernet and GSM/GPRS Network as desired.

Netrapal Singh

Phoenix Contact India Pvt. Ltd.