Smart Cities is not a new concept now as technology progresses and innovation prevails we discover more and more areas to develop. Traveling smartly is becoming a top priority in increasingly busy cities, and for people having a busy schedule around the world, traffic load, congestion, and other traffic problems must be avoided to make your travel smarter. A startup in Ottawa SMATS Traffic Solutions specializes in WiFi and Bluetooth traffic sensors that can locate individual MAC addresses and record travel time and speed data to formulate average travel time and speeds for different routes.
This data can then be used to compare alternative routes, perform OD studies calibrate traffic simulation models and more. For example one of their current clients is using TrafficXHub™ sensor to monitor travel times on alternative routes within a work zone. The generated times are used to populate Variable Messaging Signs within the work zone, informing travelers which routes will be quicker to navigate.
The sensors integrate WiFi and 3 Types of Bluetooth signals (BLE, Discovery & Paired), allowing to have 5X greater traffic detection than legacy systems (capturing 20-30% of total traffic). Since everyone having mobile devices nowadays (sometimes even more than one), the technology is able to capture a large sample size, analyze and output live and accurate travel time and speed information.
Sydney Hutchison of SMATS told RS-NEWS that “the sensors are installed roadside and data is collected on an interval set by the user (i.e. Should the sensors update every 1 minute, 5 minutes, etc..). The data is then automatically synced to SMATS data analytics platform (iNode™) where our data algorithms get to work. iNode™ mines the data and rids it of duplicate detections, the final information is then summarized and displayed clearly to the end-user. The iNode™ platform is accessible online and therefore the sensor setting can be modified and data can be viewed anywhere anytime.”
Recently SMATS has introduced the integration of 3rd party crowdsourced data into the platform. What this means is that we can utilize systems such as Google Traffic Map to create “virtual traffic sensors” that iNode™ can read. The crowdsourced data is analyzed & presented in iNode™, making data collection and analysis completely remote, handsfree, and easier than ever, said Hutchison.
Our technology is helping municipalities and other officials implement cost-effective, time-saving, and accurate traffic data collection solutions. Many times we see traffic studies performed so infrequently that the data is no longer accurate. Traffic conditions are so unpredictable that in order to accurately assess conditions, they need to be consistently monitored. Live traffic data is exactly what SMATS offers, as we help change the way traffic flows (for the better).
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