The latest in road safety technology is harnessing the power and performance of 360 Vision Technology’s Predator cameras, in a groundbreaking installation designed to protect road users and wildlife on the busy rural roads of the Netherlands.
The UK manufacturer of ruggedised HD, radar and thermal PTZ imaging cameras, provides the camera technology of this unique and industry-leading solution, AISecure360.
AISecure360 is a stand-alone solution designed to protect road users from encountering the unique wildlife of the Netherlands. Wildlife of varying types and size stray onto the country’s rural road network – causing accidents, often with serious injuries to motorists alongside damage to road infrastructure and vehicles.
“Here in the Netherlands, we have an expansive road network that crosses vast distances of rural land”, explains Gert Hamberg, of ProWild; “Wildlife collisions are a constant issue that have increased 6% each year. The material cost of accidents for motorists can be high, but more severe is the cost in lost biodiversity and injury or worse to drivers and passengers of vehicles.
“Our AISecure360 wildlife detection system is designed to protect both wildlife and human life – by identifying animals about to cross into the roadway and automatically activating road information signs to warn approaching traffic there could be wildlife near or on the road.
“As a result, road users are warned of animals that may be crossing and can reduce their speed and pass through this location vigilantly. This allows animals to cross safely and prevents collisions as much as possible – all without significant impact on the overall traffic flow.”
To do this and provide accurate real-time information to drivers with no false alarms takes the best technology the surveillance industry has to offer – all combined to create a packaged system that can be deployed on any roadway it is required.
“Firstly, any animal approaching the carriageway is detected a specified distance from the road by extremely accurate radar technology – here we turned to Magos Systems who offer radar technology both compact and the best in class for resolution and coverage,” continues Gert Hamberg; “Magos Systems offer supreme detection under all weather and lighting conditions – even in highly challenging or cluttered environments.”
“Relying on cutting-edge radar technologies, our radars achieve perfect detection performance for all types of threats,” says Andy Payne of Magos Systems; “Here our technology is proving invaluable for the detection of moving targets such as animals that can vary greatly in size and shape – from a small wild cat to a large elk.
“Our radars combine great range resolution and wide coverage to deliver perfect detection for all wildlife, even in poor weather conditions when the system can be required most.”
Once an animal is detected by the radar, a 360 Vision Technology Predator camera takes over – automatically zooming in and tracking the identified target. “Here, we required the best the video surveillance industry had to offer,” explains Gert; “The 360 Vision Predator is the flagship product of the 360 Vision range and was a natural choice for reliable technology at the front of the market.”
A feature packed and customizable range of PTZ surveillance cameras, the all-metal construction of the Predator is bespoke built to match the needs of the most diverse operational specifications – so was perfect to be the eyes of the AISecure360 system. Predator provides crystal clear images whatever the ambient light or weather conditions at the roadside.
“HD clarity with powerful 40x optical zoom and great low light performance mean that any animal can be tracked, providing tuned images that afford the next part of the system, the analytics, to work at their most effective and with the best clarity of image from which to make informed decisions,” explains Adrian Kirk, Business Development Director at 360 Vision Technology; “Designed, built and supported in the UK, Predator is our high performance ruggedised PTZ camera. Predator’s 200mm lens and super-fast zoom ensures the detected target is tracked fast – no matter its size or speed, whilst the 360 Vision on-board camera AI automatically and continually adjusts the light balance of the image and ensures focal length is maximised for the whole image, not just one part of the picture – to provide the decision-making analytics of the system with the best tuned image of the target on which to base its decisions.”
From here, latest generation AI software from VAIBS, Vaidio Video AI Analytics analyses the image – making an informed decision on what the target is, and what kind of threat it poses to road users.
With over 35 powerful AI Analytics, Vaidio provides real-time insights, increases security and automates video surveillance. “In this case, the Vaidio AI-driven Video Analytics platform goes beyond traditional camera surveillance, turning data into immediate, actionable insights,” explains Jos Stijkel, Business Development Manager of VAIBS; “We give the cameras the intelligence, speed and control to always stay one step ahead of threats to the road.
“Where many still see AI as future potential, we aim to inspire people by applying the power of this technology in an approachable way to current practice. Here, we can not only identify where the animal is, but also if it is proceeding towards the road or not, and what type of animal it is. An elk poses a much greater threat to road users than a wild cat for example, so we ensure the system can identify the animal quickly and ensure the system reacts accordingly to the threat posed – every time.”
When a threat is detected, control room operators are alerted and are instantly provided with high-resolution images, ensuring operator’s time and focus is only employed on actual threats to a safety situation on that section of road. At the same time, the system’s powerful analytics can make informed decisions on the threat and react accordingly, including alerting drivers on the road with powerful and descriptive matrix signs that can describe the threat, and applying temporary speed limit signs while the threat is active – all without any operator input.
If an accident is detected, Vaidio analytics can assist here too, automatically alerting the correct emergency service response to the scene – based on information it has received from the 360 Vision Predator camera.
“By identifying each species so effectively and accurately, we can also provide accurate biodiversity data, detailing species and movement in specific areas;” adds Gert.
“Harnessing the technological power of the best in the business has resulted in a deployable system that can increase the safety of the public whilst only requiring operator input once the situation has been assessed and responded to accordingly, says Adrian Kirk; “With modern control room environments becoming increasingly saturated with increased camera feeds this can be invaluable – using operators’ time as economically and as focused as possible is key to getting the best out of any surveillance budget.
“It also ensures the correct response to each threat level, eliminating false alarms and ensuring a measured and appropriate response to each – every time. This minimises disruption to the road network whilst maximising the safety of its users.”
The use of these technologies combined into the AISecure360 solution also reduces infrastructure at the roadside. A traditional camera system to cover such an area would require a camera and pole every 100 metres. Here however, coverage can be expanded to hundreds of metres from one camera position – decreasing infrastructure and increasing safety by negating the need for the support architecture at the roadside that could potentially be struck by vehicles. This also means less cable infrastructure, reduced civil engineering works, reduced maintenance costs and less disruption to road use during installation.
“In use, the latest generation of this system is adding to the more than 1,600 accidents prevented since 2011, saving approximately € 8,000,000 in damage (a reduction of more than 90%) and increasing safety to road users immeasurably;” Gert concludes; “Additionally we have seen more diversity in the natural animal species population in areas where the systems have been used. With less road casualties, the animal population of each area is afforded a more natural selection process and allowed to flourish in a more diverse manner – leading to a more balanced and stable animal ecosystem in the area. Plus, the time required to analyse the wildlife data over other methods is dramatically reduced, as automated classification for each animal has already been highlighted and recorded by the system.”
AISecure360 is available across Europe from 360 Vision Technology and ProWild and presents an autonomous technology solution package at the roadside that is already delivering a scalable, continuously improving, AI‑optimized solution to road safety.
For more 360 Vision news, click here
