Video Image Processing for Freeway Monitoring and Control: Evaluation of theMobilizer

摘要

This research project installed, tested, and evaluated the Mobilizer videoimaging system within the Washington State Department of Transportation's (WSDOT) Traffic Systems Management Center (TSMC). The Mobilizer (developed by Condition Monitoring Systems (CMS)) is a third generation video image processing system that uses a tracking technology as opposed to previous generation systems that use a tripwire technology. CMS advertises Mobilizer's ability to link vehicle sightings at multiple camera locations, translating to travel time estimates along a roadway section. In addition to travel time estimates, the system produces volume, speed, density, distance headway, vehicle classification, and truck percentage data at each camera location. The data are reported for individual lanes, as well as for a section aggregate. Some of the key objectives of this research were to (1) determine site locations for evaluation; test video compatibility (e.g., quality, field of view, freeway flow levels, camera reliability); (2) establish methods for obtaining reference or 'ground truth' data for comparison with the system output; and (3) study feasibility of using the Mobilizer for measuring volume, density, and travel time and its accuracy for different flow and environmental conditions.