Traffax’s technological approach provides key competitive advantages over existing methods.
These advantages include:
- Directly measures travel time and space mean speed. This is a leapfrog advance over existing point detection technology (inductive loops, radar detectors, image processors, etc.) commonly used by most transportation agencies to infer travel time. The greater accuracy of the Bluetooth approach is because travel time is directly sampled rather than inferred from the point speed detections. Errors on the magnitude of 30% are possible using conventional detection technology.
- Accurate measurement of the origins and destinations (O-Ds) of the overall traffic stream at less cost and with larger sample size than that which is possible with conventional methods. Conventional O-D sampling techniques such as on-road surveys are extremely disruptive to traffic flow. Postcard surveys are invasive to individual privacy. Automatic license plate readers are expensive to install and operate.
- Accurate measurement of vehicle travel times on both freeways and arterial streets. The ability to collect accurate travel times on arterials is unprecedented. No general purpose technology currently exists with this capability.
- Measures travel times and O-D’s for a variety of modes (highway vehicles, rail, and pedestrian) since the Bluetooth devices are associated with people rather than vehicles.
- Can be applied globally due to the proliferation of the Bluetooth standard protocol. Techniques similar to the Bluetooth equipment are available that detect the passage of toll tags (such as EZPass). However, adequate samples of toll tags are only available in the vicinity of toll facilities.
- Eliminates field calibration and minimizes ongoing maintenance.
- Simplifies field installation procedures because of the low-power and omni-directional antenna patterns.
- Permits the use of either permanent or temporary installation without impacting functionality.
- Greater personal privacy than that which is available with automated toll tag tracking, license plate surveys or cellular telephone probes. There is no user account database in existence today that is associated with Bluetooth addresses.
- An open protocol that is applicable globally. Cell phone and automated-toll tag data are only applicable to specific facilities, manufacturers or regions. The Traffax approach can be deployed worldwide, at any scale, on any transportation facility.
- Facility owners can own and deploy effective probe based systems, without the complications and restrictions of licensing traffic data from commercial providers.
- Inherently low-power, low-bandwidth, low-maintenance devices which eliminate concern for geometric constraints associated with clear lines of site and availability of mounting structures. Detectors require only proximity to the travel stream. This allows for reuse of any existing sign structure, pole, or bridge for mounting equipment, further minimizing cost.
- Can be deployed efficiently as temporary traffic detectors using only battery power. As temporary data collection sensors they can be placed directly on the ground, behind guard rails, or tethered to a sign post. Placement is limited only by practical concerns of safety and security of road side equipment. Antenna options and detection range allow for placement well outside the right of way if needed.
