Skip to main content

CMOS cameras used to create video pedestrian crossing

The city of Cologne, Germany has installed two CMOS-camera based video pedestrian light systems that will recognise waiting pedestrians and extend the green phase if there are still people crossing after the standard time allocation. The system, implemented by Siemens, uses two Flir cameras. The safe walk camera observes the waiting area. A stereo camera with two CMOS 1/3-inch mono sensors and 3 mm lenses is mounted 3.5 metres above the ground to cover an area of 12 sq m. This camera is set to recognise on
June 11, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The city of Cologne, Germany has installed two CMOS-camera based video pedestrian light systems that will recognise waiting pedestrians and extend the green phase if there are still people crossing after the standard time allocation.

The system, implemented by 189 Siemens, uses two 6778 FLIR cameras. The safe walk camera observes the waiting area.  A stereo camera with two CMOS 1/3-inch mono sensors and 3 mm lenses is mounted 3.5 metres above the ground to cover an area of 12 sq m. This camera is set to recognise only objects with a height above 50 cm in order to eliminate shading and other distractions on the pavement.

C-walk – the second video system – uses a colour CMOS camera and recognises when not all pedestrians can cross in the minimum green period and sends a signal to the Siemens control unit in order to extend the green phase.

According to an article in Novus Light, the algorithms of the system also recognise the moving direction of pedestrians and can recognise those who only pass through the detection area. In this way, only people waiting at the light trigger a signal to the control unit of the pedestrian light, which, depending on the programming, starts a green phase at certain points in the current phase.

Dr Christoph Roth, product manager in the Road and City Mobility department at the Siemens Infrastructure and Cities Sector, says CMOS sensors were chosen because in traffic detection applications, they deliver more reliable images than CCD sensors and have a higher resistance to blooming from auto headlights at night.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New system to prevent Hazchem and over-height vehicles entering tunnel
    August 20, 2015
    An impending move to free-flow charging prompted a search for automated dangerous goods identification and over-height detection systems at the Thames Crossing to the east of London. Manned toll booths are increasingly being consigned to history by the onslaught of all-electronic charging. However, a secondary function of the traditional manned plazas has been to prevent non-compliant vehicles using the facility or to tell a driver that that they need to use a specific lane or wait for an escort. Automating
  • FLIR aims to build on US successes with infrared-spectrum cameras
    October 24, 2012
    FLIR is looking at this show to promote awareness of the successes its infrared-spectrum cameras have achieved in the US market, and to emulate those gains elsewhere in the world. Infrared cameras score over their visible light competitors for applications such as Automated Incident Detection (AID) and vulnerable road user detection, according to Dan Dietrich, the company’s Manager, Traffic & ITS. “Detecting bicycles and pedestrians is challenging for visible-spectrum cameras in certain conditions but becau
  • Sony exhibits XCG-CP510 GS CMOS camera
    October 25, 2018
    Sony Europe’s Image Sensing Solutions (ISS) is showcasing its polarised category of machine vision camera at Vision 2018. The company says the camera’s IMX250MZR sensor captures polarised light in four different angles. The XCG-CP510 GS CMOS camera simplifies stress inspection, contrast improvement, scratch detection, object detection, removal and enhancement from a single image capture, the company adds. The camera’s module is expected to deliver 5.1 MP polarised B/W images at 23 fps, transmitted over a
  • Pedestrians still walking a tightrope in US
    August 23, 2024
    Although the Governors Highway Safety Association says annual US pedestrian traffic deaths fell for first time since Covid, they remain above pre-pandemic levels, finds David Arminas