The Kazakhstani Ministry of Transport and Communications; and SMEU-Astana, the contractor for Astana’s ITS project.
In just under 20 years, the city of Astana has experienced a population boom that has transformed the city into one of the most important cultural, artistic, architectural and commercial destinations in Eastern Europe. With a population expected to reach more than one million in the next few years, and a tourist trade that sees more than 500,000 visitors a year, the city needed powerful, accurate and flexible vehicle detection to form the basis of its intelligent traffic infrastructure.
Traffic engineers in Astana face two distinct challenges: rapid growth and harsh winter temperatures. First, Astana is still growing and traffic patterns change very quickly, so vehicle detection must be accurate 24-hours a day; it must also be flexible enough to adapt to new traffic patterns in order to provide consistent, reliable data.
Second, temperatures in Astana often reach -40 degrees Celsius (-40 degrees Fahrenheit), and the extreme cold can be very damaging to the road surface, and to any intrusive detection devices that might be embedded in it. This makes inductive loops and other similar technologies unappealing. Instead, Astana officials require non-intrusive detection methods that are unaffected by cold weather.
SmartSensor HD was utilized at the beginning of the project as part of a mobile transport detector in order to record baseline data on traffic flows which was used to develop the ITS scheme. SmartSensor Matrix is being used as a stationary vehicle detector at intersections to provide dynamic intersection control as well as additional data.
“With the help of SmartSensors, we were able to eliminate the use of inductive loops in the asphalt.”–VIKTOR MASALEVICHIUS, CHIEF EXPERT ON TRAFFIC AT SMEU-ASTANA
Wavetronix radar sensors are non-intrusive and are unaffected by cold temperatures. SmartSensor HD’s dual-beam, true high definition radar is simple to move and calibrate, giving traffic specialists easy access to a variety of data, including vehicle counts, lane occupancy, and per vehicle speed. SmartSensor Matrix is the only radar sensor capable of true presence detection and is highly accurate in difficult conditions.
Viktor Masalevichius, chief expert on traffic at SMEU-Astana, said Wavetronix also provided assistance and support through every step of the process, including onsite and classroom training. The accuracy and flexibility of SmartSensor products is allowing Astana’s traffic infrastructure to keep up with a growing and changing population.
“With the help of SmartSensors, we were able to eliminate the use of inductive loops in the asphalt,” Masalevichius said.
