“We are co-locating our Beacon Station 500 series weather analysis equipment with Vivacity’s AI road side units that generate computer visions of traffic movements, such as identifying cars, trucks, buses, cyclists and pedestrians,” said Daniel Johns, head of Vaisala’s ground transportation business development. More the 60 locations are being set up in the West Midlands, including the city of Birmingham, and should be fully functional by the end of the year. The Beacon Station incorporates Vaisala’s Weather Transmitter for measuring wind, rain, temperature, humidity and air pressure. Beacon also incorporates Vaisala’s Air Quality Centre for measuring pollution levels.
“The goal is to know how the weather affects people’s choices of mobility,” said Johns. “We will be able to see if vehicular traffic increases on rainy or cold days and if so, should there be more buses or other public transportation modes on those days.”
By measuring air quality as well, road authorities can see any correlation between poor weather and pollution levels and take action to mitigate pollution when they know inclement weather is on the way.
“Such micro-detail can help build really intelligent traffic flow management,” said Johns.
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