Skip to main content

Siemens delivers pedestrian countdown at traffic signals

Siemens’ new Pedestrian Countdown at Traffic Signals (PCaTS) informs pedestrians how long they have to cross the road after the green man signal has gone out, by providing a visible countdown of the time remaining before the appearance of the red man.
March 18, 2016 Read time: 2 mins

189 Siemens’ new Pedestrian Countdown at Traffic Signals (PCaTS) informs pedestrians how long they have to cross the road after the green man signal has gone out, by providing a visible countdown of the time remaining before the appearance of the red man.

The system is compatible with Siemens’ Helios Traffic c signals and can be specified with a new installation or retrofitted to existing sites (including Peek Elite signals).

It features highly visible double stroke LED digits and is enhanced by the use of a flat lens which is ‘black masked’ to minimise sun phantom reflections. The unit may also be fitted with a small hood to further enhance the sun phantom performance if required.

Once installed, the unit automatically detects the blackout period after two learning cycles of the signals. Timing synchronisation with the blackout period is achieved by direct connections to the red and green signal feeds via isolated input circuits designed to ensure there is no impact on controller lamp or safety monitoring.

These inputs also sense the dim/bright state of the signals to automatically dim the PCaTS unit.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • US Cities push for smarter poles
    June 25, 2018
    US Cities The need to connect existing infrastructure has led various US transit authorities into imaginative alleyways: David Crawford examines some new roles for street furniture. US cities are vying with each other in developing schemes to create a new generation of connected places. Their strategies include taking advantage of their streetlight poles’ height and ubiquity to give them new roles in supporting intelligent nodes. They are now being equipped for collecting real-time data on key transport
  • Challenges and benefits of adaptive signal control
    April 23, 2013
    Delcan’s Joe Lam, who managed the first computerised signal system in the world, provides an expert insight into adaptive signal control. There are no gadgets in the world that regulate our daily behaviour as much as traffic signals, except perhaps our mobile phones. It has been estimated that the daily commuter goes through at least 10 signals on his journey to work. However, unlike mobile phones, traffic signals cannot be ignored or switched off by their daily users, at least not without legal consequence
  • Abu Dhabi introduces intelligent traffic control
    March 17, 2015
    In its efforts to enhance road safety and improve traffic flow, the Department of Transport (DoT) in Abu Dhabi has introduced an intelligent traffic control system at all signalised intersections of Mohammed bin Zayed City, Abu Dhabi. The project, which completed its deployment phases recently, involved installing intelligent and integrated traffic/pedestrian signals as well as a traffic video surveillance system in the 40 intersections of Mohammed bin Zayed City.
  • Nairobi looks to ITS to ease travel problems
    December 21, 2017
    Shem Oirere looks at plans to tackle chronic congestion in the Kenyan capital. Traffic jams in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, are estimated to cost the country $360 million a year in terms of lost man-hours, fuel and pollution. According to Wilfred Oginga, an engineer with the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA), the congestion has been exacerbated by poor regulation and enforcement of traffic rules, absence of adequate traffic management systems and poor utilisation of existing road facilities.