I can’t tell you exactly how computer vision works – I’m a transport consultant, not a computer scientist – but I can give you a very high-level description of how we can use it in practice.
Fortunately, this is very simple: you download some computer vision software and input some images, then the software compares the contents of the image against a set of patterns. Each pattern is associated with a “class” – which can be object types (e.g. person, car) or more abstract compositions (e.g. smiling person, day time / night time). If something in the image matches one of these patterns, the software tags it and reports that it has identified the object.
The main benefit for us transport professionals is speed and cost. With a good desktop computer, computer vision systems can process full HD video in real-time and it can run 24/7 with minimal human input, so the main costs are electricity, setting up the camera and configuring the software.
The low cost of use for FiveBarGate makes data collection viable for even the smallest budget projects, where traditional data collection methods are just not realistic. The lowest costs can be achieved using free crowdsourced data but, for slightly larger projects, this can be topped up by carrying out targeted surveys using vehicle-mounted cameras. Although this adds the cost of a driver and vehicle for a day, it greatly improves the data quality by allowing the collected images to be targeted for geographic areas and times of day that are most relevant to your project’s needs.
Even better, we can use FiveBarGate to collect data in areas that are less commonly considered for transport development work. Transport authorities in smaller cities in LMICs often do not have the resources to collect data themselves and this acts as a barrier to investment – planning these projects requires data, but collecting data requires some investment to begin. By lowering the cost of data collection, we aim to kickstart the process and make planning transport improvements more viable in more cities around the world.
There are a variety of data collection services using computer vision in the UK market alone, such as VivaCity smart traffic monitoring using roadside pole-mounted cameras, Agilysis Global Roads for flows and speeds in rural locations, and Vaisala RoadAI for road maintenance analysis. These examples are all UK-based, because that is where I live, but there are many other services offered in other countries.
There is also a growing market for ‘all in one’ computer vision solutions such as Telraam, which bundles a camera with an AI processing chip, allowing the counting to be performed on the device itself. Although they might not be suitable for all transport projects, these products can be a great starting point for exploring the capabilities of computer vision.
Unfortunately, the current state of computer vision for transport in LMICs is fairly limited – for now. We expect the market to rapidly expand in the coming years and drive down the cost of data collection, making good information more widely available and ultimately making it possible for people get to where they want to go more safely, efficiently and sustainably.
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