As its name suggests, SmartSensor HD uses high-definition radar (250 MHz) to produce more sharply focused radar images. Lower-definition radar detectors (50 MHz) can blur detections across lanes, resulting in lane spillover. This can be problematic in a work zone because large construction vehicles, even if they are on the shoulder or in the median, can result in false detections as their radar image spills into working lanes.
SmartSensor HD keeps detections in the correct lanes, leading to decreased false detections and more accurate data. In addition, when you configure HD, you can exclude certain areas of the roadway — such as those occupied by construction vehicles — from being counted.
In the case of road expansion, you want to get counts in that spot before, during and after the construction, to make sure that the expansion project is warranted and to see if the expansion has had the desired effect on traffic flow.
SmartSensor HD’s true high-definition, dual-beam radar allows it to get highly accurate counts as well as accurate per vehicle and interval speeds. And HD can cover a lot of area: 250 feet and 22 lanes, to be exact.
SmartSensor HD is highly reliable. It works in all weather conditions and even the poorest lighting. And unlike pneumatic tubes, which are a commonly used solution for temporary counts, SmartSensor HD is mounted on the side of the road so it doesn’t wear out or get damaged by long-term use.
SmartSensor HD’s auto-configuration feature gets the sensor detecting and reporting in a matter of seconds: it continuously determines where to place lanes based on vehicles it detects, and all you have to do is accept those lanes.
This is useful in a work zone, where construction may require the shifting of lanes, sometimes multiple times during a single project. A lane-based detection system could struggle to continue detecting accurately, but with SmartSensor HD, you simply run the auto-configuration process and the sensor will adapt to the new lane configuration in less than a minute. And HD’s vehicle-based detection provides more accurate lane placement, more quickly than other forms of detection.
SmartSensor HD is designed for long-term use, but it’s also easy to deploy at temporary sites such as work zones. The sensor can be mounted on any pole located at the side of the road, but in situations where there is no pole — or just for ease of use — you have other options. Some agencies keep trailers, outfitted with booms, sensors, and ancillary equipment, that can be towed to a site to be utilized for the duration of the project. An extra advantage of this is that it keeps the detection mobile; if the center of the construction moves within the work zone, so can the detector. And once the construction is finished, the trailer can be towed back into storage, ready to be deployed at the next work site.
Another great advantage to using SmartSensor HD as part of a portable trailer fixture is that the trailer can contain everything you need for the installation. Some agencies keep a battery on the trailer for power; alternatively, you could use solar panels to power the sensor and connected equipment. Either way, this means you don’t have to find existing power infrastructure or run power cables out to your work zone.
Additionally, you can choose what the sensor does with the data it collects. Generally the data is sent to the TOC, but you can also have it store the data onboard until someone is able to go out to the site and download it.
Using this second option in conjunction with one of the power options mentioned above, you could have a truly self-contained site, requiring nothing but the trailer itself. This is a great choice for rural locations.
The most important part of work zone management is keeping workers safe, but you also need to keep traffic flowing as efficiently as possible. Traffic counting devices such as pneumatic tubes cause a problem because, since they’re placed on the road itself, implementing them requires closing lanes so that workers aren’t in danger. SmartSensor HD avoids this problem because it’s non-intrusive — the sensor sits on the side of the road, meaning that installing it doesn’t require workers to be in the roadway or to close lanes.
SmartSensor HD, in conjunction with other equipment, can be a useful part of maintaining a traffic system. One example would be using the HD with a variable message sign.
In this scenario, a sensor upstream from the work zone is used to detect traffic. It sends that data to a Click device that looks for vehicles that have exceeded speed thresholds. When it finds one, it sends an alert that tells the VMS (or a flashing beacon) to show a warning message about the work zone ahead.
