While traffic camera videos showing too-tall trucks haplessly crashing into overhanging bridges make for priceless social media fodder, the costs of such crashes are real. In fact, there are an average of 15,000 bridge and tunnel collisions in the U.S. annually, according to the Federal Highway Administration. They have an average repair cost of about $18,000 per accident, judging from University of Cambridge research. This totals $270 million annually in damage caused by such accidents.
From an article in DesignNews by Dan Carney.
Israeli lidar supplier Innoviz has developed a Bridge Collision Detection solution meant to prevent these collisions that will be deployed by Drive Group, a leading toll road operator in that country.
The system uses roadside lidar sensors installed a mile or so before the approach to the bridge or tunnel to gauge the height of passing trucks. When they exceed predefined ranges determined by the road operator, the system photographs the vehicle and sends the image and license plate information to authorities, who can intervene and stop the vehicle to prevent potential collisions.
Existing camera-based anti-collision systems are prone to false alarms that lidar can avoid, according to Innoviz, thanks to its accurate 3D visualization of trucks’ dimensions. “There is no reason to accept the present situation of bridge and tunnel accidents,” said Innoviz CEO and co-founder, Omer Keilaf. “It is estimated that 2 to 3 percent of the world’s bridges are damaged every year, and we believe the technologies being developed at Innoviz can be a game changer for roadways across the world.”
Innoviz completed a successful pilot program with Drive Group to verify the technology before the full rollout.
For the complete article on bridge collision CLICK HERE.
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