The future of smart cities depends upon infrastructure with connective capabilities.
Who isn’t familiar with exasperating searches for parking spaces in urban areas? However, it is not just cities that are short on parking spaces; in smaller towns too, the hunt for a space can often turn into a real struggle.
Emissions released during searches for parking spaces contribute to smog. In the city of the future, however, this connection between emissions and parking searches could become a thing of the past. Indeed, some parking lots already use smart parking space management systems, which navigate drivers to spaces, thereby helping to maintain a better flow of traffic.
A system that manages parking spaces can also be helpful in managing other aspects of urban and off-road traffic. Smart cities are no longer a distant dream; they are beginning to take shape in some places. One element of a smart city is that traffic flow is made efficient, thanks to better use of available infrastructure – without necessarily having to expand or build upon it, even when the traffic volume flow has increased.
Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) require considerably fewer materials and have fewer costs associated with them than building additional traffic lanes. As a consequence, there is a need to take action in terms of new ways that infrastructure can be used to accommodate increased traffic in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.
Some ITS are able to analyze traffic flows and generate plans to improve them. The systems are able to do this using data collected from real traffic, as well as reports on the weather and the environment. Following data collection and analyses, city planners must be prepared to adopt a flexible approach toward improving traffic flow.
A real-time solution
German traffic engineering technology company Bremicker Verkehrstechnik has produced a traffic solution called Veris. It is a digital traffic data and information system that gathers and processes traffic and road data with various sensors. For example, it can measure the temperatures using an integrated thermometer and if the recorded temperature is lower than a previously set minimum, it will automatically activate a slippery road warning to notify drivers – via an LED display – of the hazardous situation, ultimately helping to prevent accidents.
Up-to-date information about temporary disturbances such as road works can be made available to drivers in real time. Travel duration times during peak hours can be calculated using data acquired from traffic at busy intersections. This data also enables Veris to offer alternative travel routes in advance.
The company is also able to analyze data collected from sensors that measure particulate and noise pollution. The more data that Veris has on traffic conditions in the area that it is covering, the more efficiently the traffic can be organized by methods such as: early traffic jam recognition; the identification of suitable alternative travel routes; and location planning for retail.
When Veris is integrated into a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) networked strategy, it is able to intelligently manage the overall traffic flow of a city.
ITS can be used to make highways smarter. For example, automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) technology on gantries is used to analyze traffic density. The information gathered can then be transmitted to prismatic or LED signs, such as those produced by Bremicker Verkehrstechnik, to notify drivers of information including speed limits or the opening up of a hard shoulder.
In order to make effective use of the vast traffic data available, new possibilities for its collection must be developed. Bremicker Verkehrstechnik has specialized knowledge of digital networks, and its innovative concepts, accompanied by continuous product advancement, have made the company a pioneer in smart city and smart highway development.
Bremicker Verkehrstechnik designs and manufactures LED and prism signs for highways and parking management that are tailored to the needs of each customer. In addition to signs, the organization continues to help optimize traffic flow in cities and communities using its traffic systems that operate with secure data processing and offer real-time traffic simulations.
80 years The length of time that Bremicker Verkehrstechnik has operated in the traffic technology field.
