Traffic management is an area where video analytics technology is making a significant impact, helping authorities understand where the bottlenecks are, reducing congestion, reducing accidents, and increasing response time. Research agencies list traffic monitoring as one of the primary growth markets for video analytics, along with intrusion management, incident detection, people/crowd counting.
Certain video analytic features are more critical than others for traffic monitoring. This article explores the top five video analytic features that customers in the traffic monitoring vertical need the most.
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License plate detection and search
The ability to recognize a license plate in a fast-moving car or during poor light and weather conditions is probably the most important video analytic application in this vertical. Where the human eye is limited, smart cameras enhanced with video analytics can help identify speeding or control access systems in streets or parking lots – making traffic surveillance both more reliable and efficient.
“For example, a camera application designed for detection and identification of vehicles and car number plates in motion is not only trained to recognize sequences of letters on license plates, but also country or region of origin,” said Kai Bisgwa, Vice President Sales & Business Development at Security and Safety Things.
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Vehicle classification
Identifying the make, model, color, and other vehicle attributes is as crucial as identifying the number plate. This has been a challenging area for many solutions, but the latest AI-based developments have improved accuracy. Many of the solutions currently available in the market can detect the vehicle type (like a truck, bus, car, etc.), its color, brand, and license plate.
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Detecting safety and other rule violations
Smart cameras equipped with AI-enabled video analytics are already revolutionizing the way traffic is monitored and managed. Analytics that can enable operators to respond in real-time to wrong-way drivers (line crossing), potential roadblocks (object detection) – such as an accident or weather conditions, are particularly valuable. It offers operators the opportunity to alert motorists to these road conditions through the use of roadside or highway warning signs.
Another important feature that customers are looking for is detecting illegal parking, says Amol Kulkarni, VP and Country Head of Dragonfruit AI. Illegal parking often adds to traffic congestion, and quickly detecting illegally parked vehicles is essential for smooth operations.
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Traffic optimization
Bisgwa points out that more than just enabling safer traffic patterns, video analytics offer decision-makers valuable data crucial for identifying problems, such as traffic on busy roads, accidents, and object detection. Video analytic applications can offer crossline detection for traffic analysis, where it detects if vehicles stay in their lanes or tend to change lanes frequently – causing traffic jams.
“Another application designed to detect anomalies can continuously analyze criteria, such as object classification, speeds, and types of movement,” Bisgwa added. “This data can be used to determine why the flow of traffic might be disrupted or not running as efficiently as it should.”
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Video summarization
Kulkarni added that yet another feature that customers demand is video summarization. This enables them to have a quick view of a day’s (or any specified period) key events before deciding if any of them require more attention. This is a popular feature not just among traffic customers but also in verticals like retail, where the summary helps operators get an overview of a day’s activities.
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