The Institute of Transportation (IOT) and National Chiao Tung University have jointly developed traffic surveillance devices that will automatically translate the images they detect into relevant data and information.
Chang Tsan-yu (張贊育), an IOT researcher, said the technology is nothing new and is already available in other countries. He said the institute developed its own system because it is expensive to purchase the devices made in other countries. Each one costs between NT$250,000 and NT$300,000.
“In Taipei City, for example, the malfunction rate of these traffic surveillance systems is pretty high,” Chang said. “It usually takes days to repair them. Sometimes, you have to send them overseas because the key technology is under the control of original manufacturers.”
Chang said these traffic surveillance devices cannot process the traffic volume of motorcycles or bicycles, two of the nation’s most popular vehicles.
The new system they created not only displays images of traffic, but can also reconnoiter traffic volume or driving speed and automatically translate that into data and information, he said.
“And if something falls off of a truck, the device is able to the keep the image and accurately identify the vehicle that dropped the thing on the road,” Chang said.
The institute said the device can also be used with pan, tilt and zoom (PTZ) cameras. When the device detects an accident, the PTZ camera zooms in and takes a photo of the scene to send to authorities.
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