Flir combines vision and radar sensing of intersections

TrafiRadar, an integrated radar and visual intersection monitoring and sensing system, is being demonstrated by Flir. The unit contains both a Doppler radar and a megapixel camera and can detect the presence, speed and location of a vehicle up to 250m from the stop line.
April 6, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
TrafiRadar, an integrated radar and visual intersection monitoring and sensing system, is being demonstrated by 6778 Flir. The unit contains both a Doppler radar and a megapixel camera and can detect the presence, speed and location of a vehicle up to 250m from the stop line.


By overlaying the radar output onto the camera image, traffic controllers (both human and electronic) can derive more complete information. “You cannot detect the speed of a vehicle 250m away through optical means alone because there are not enough pixels to determine the speed, but this is not a problem for radar,” said Flir’s Robin Collaert.

‘Virtual loops’ can be created in each lane both to identify vehicles driving or waiting in the dilemma zones. Separate truck and car dilemma zones can be created for each lane and, combined with the vehicle speed, the system can determine if the green signal for crossing traffic, cyclists or pedestrians needs to be delayed to prevent a red-light running incident. Once vehicles have stopped, they no longer register on the Doppler radar so the visual detection takes precedence.

Speeding vehicles can also be detected at a distance far enough away to allow the lights to be turned to red to bring them safely to a halt.

According to the company the system not only improves safety and efficiency of the intersection, it can also replace up to five loops in each lane. The combined camera/radar unit can be positioned on existing infrastructure either side of the intersection without significant loss of performance.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • CMOS cameras used to create video pedestrian crossing
    June 11, 2013
    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
    Read More
  • Flir showcases ThermiCam innovation
    October 6, 2015
    In addition to its field-proven solutions for automatic incident detection and urban traffic monitoring, Flir Intelligent Transportation Systems is here at the ITS World Congress to present several innovations to visitors. ThermiCam is an integrated thermal camera and detector for vehicle and bike detection that does not need light to operate, but uses the thermal energy emitted from vehicles and bicyclists to make a distinction between both.
    Read More
  • Flir traffic webinar
    October 16, 2015
    Flir Traficon Academy has organised an informative webinar on 29 October that it says will teach participants more about keeping traffic flowing. According to Flir, one of the biggest challenges for ITS specialists is handling a wide variety of road users. For many years, dedicated detection solutions used to be required for a reliable detection of pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles. The webinar will show how Flir’s ThermiCam/TrafiSense sensor can be used for pedestrian presence detection, bicycle p
    Read More
  • Teledyne Flir channels AI potential
    March 30, 2022
    Visionary innovator Teledyne Flir has revolutionsied traffic system cameras, as visitors to the company’s stand here will see. Two ground-breaking innovations, based on artificial intelligence (AI), are being featured – the Flir ThermiCam AI with thermal imaging and the Flir TraffiCam AI visible camera.
    Read More

Highlighted Content