Is this the solution to road data analytics?

Finding an all-encompassing advanced traffic management system your road network needs can be an onerous task with myriad boxes to tick. This may no longer be the case, as Intertraffic discovers

Local authorities in all four corners of the globe are under pressure. Nothing new there, of course, but the pressure they are under is evolving and, more crucially, increasing. This is never truer than in the sphere of traffic management. Whether or not a globe can have corners is another matter altogether.

Any expenditure, planned or otherwise, has to be forensically justified and any new “solution” under consideration has to do some, or ideally all, of the following: save lives, save time, save money, save fuel, reduce emissions and reduce congestion. And if it can also be implemented remotely without the need for extra personnel, additional infrastructure requirements and even a hardware upgrade... all the better.

If the solution can be implemented remotely without the need for extra personnel, additional infrastructure requirements and even a hardware upgrade... all the better

Valerann has just successfully completed a fully remote deployment of its flagship platform, Lanternn by Valerann™, on the Costa Arauco motorway in Chile. This ground-breaking achievement looks set to revolutionise the Intelligent Transport Systems market and, vitally, removes the financial barriers that often prevent road authorities and operators from deploying these innovative solutions.

One of the most evident benefits of remote deployment is that there is no need to fly teams of engineers and consultants half way around the world – not only does that save huge amounts of money that would otherwise have to be spent on travel, accommodation and expenses, but it also has the environmental benefit of reducing transport emissions.  

Lanternn by Valerann™ is an innovative road data analytics solution that extracts value from all available data sources and provides road operators with clarity of the real-time traffic situation through the use of AI-driven proprietary data fusion engine.

This fully remote deployment is believed to be the first of its kind anywhere in the world, represents a turning point in the transport industry and is further evidence of the UK’s position as a global leader in this burgeoning industry sector.

“Traditionally reliant on lengthy deployments with project teams present on-site, the industry is transitioning from being dependent on complex engineering projects towards deploying solutions that accelerate value delivery while minimizing disruptions to control centres’ daily operations,” says Valerann’s co-founder and Chief Business Officer Michael Vardi. 

Valerann’s solution is an AI cloud-based platform that ingests data from all available data sources. It takes data from the existing infrastructure (radars, cameras, loops, sensors) and complements it with data from floating data sources (connected vehicles, crowd-sourced applications) and weather data. 

“Through cross-validation, verification and prioritisation of the events, the platform builds roads’ risk profiles and delivers an accurate and comprehensive overview of the road traffic situation in real time,” says Vardi. “This enables road operators to have better situational awareness, reduce human error, increase road safety and reduce CO2 emissions and pollution, to name but a few benefits.”

Remote delivery of advanced solutions for traffic control centres enables the remote maintenance of mission-critical software, thus minimizing risks of downtime

Remote delivery of advanced solutions for traffic control centres enables the remote maintenance of mission-critical software, thus minimizing risks of downtime. The more far-reaching impact of this is in reducing barriers for road operators and municipalities to benefit from deploying these life-saving systems.

Lanternn by Valerann™, is a powerful new-generation data analytics software platform capable of ingesting structured and unstructured data streams from all available disparate data sources. Hardware- and software-agnostic, it seamlessly integrates with the existing road infrastructure and provides road traffic operators with comprehensive overview of real-time traffic situation empowering them to take data-driven decisions. 

As Vardi explains: “We need to make sure that the people that we trust to manage our road network are able to trust the data that they get, and therefore also trust the decisions they make based on that data. As I see it, our mission is to empower these road operators through the data by helping them to trust their data by helping them to act upon that data in order to get a much more impactful response.”

Engineering teams from Valerann, located in London and Tel-Aviv (Israel) and from Globalvia, located in Concepcion (Chile) completed the installation of Lanternn by Valerann™ on Autopista Costa Arauco integrating nine cameras for road monitoring, 15 cameras located at the three tolls, eight response operations vehicles including ambulances, tow trucks and patrols. An 89 km motorway on the South Pacific coast of the country includes three toll stations and is vital to the Chilean cellulose industry. In 2021 the road saw average daily traffic of 27,112 vehicles - an increase of 18% from the previous year.

Valerann have undertaken some interesting and significant projects of late, such as connecting satellite-enabled cameras in collaboration with the European Space Agency for the duration of the recent UEFA Women's Euro Championships. The technology enables the monitoring of literally any road making them safer at lower costs. Furthermore, the system is an example of how roads might be managed in the near future with autonomous driving.

“With regard to level 3 and 4 autonomy, there are going to be instances where the vehicle is in autonomous mode and equally some instances in which it is not,” Vardi adds. “If the road operator is able to provide more trusted information to the vehicle you are extending the operational design domain.”

ITS has long-been instrumental in the daily management of road networks but it’s fair to say that the potential of the data has not really been realised or maximised. 

“Our solution is powered by data and driven by insight – it takes the data sources from your roads and allows you to automate based on your priorities,” summarises Vardi. 
 
The deployment in Chile is just the start and will be followed by deployments in Costa Rica in the coming weeks and in the US in the near future. From data to information to insight to action is no longer the arduous, tortuous journey it once was.

For more information visit Valerann their Company Profile.

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