Highway Surveillance and ETC Service
Intelligent Vehicle Monitoring and Recording System

Project
China’s booming economy has led to a significant increase in automobile ownership, and hence a growing need for more roads. China started developing its modern highway system in 1984, and as of 2006 it encompassed over 45,000 km of highway. And the Chinese highway system is currently growing by an average of 3,000 km per year. This ever-increasing labyrinth of highways has served upwards of 50 million vehicles (June 2007) and, perhaps not surprisingly, traffic violations have risen correspondingly. To address this problem, an effective monitoring system was required to insure public security against traffic violations and more serious crimes. This innovative monitoring system utilizes real-time CCD image processing while successfully eradicating common difficulties affecting the rates of video capture, image definition, and recognition. Three major outputs register panoramic views of traffic, recording elements crucial to identification and culpability, including license plate pictures, speed, and aggravating circumstances. Advantech’s ARK-5260 fanless, embedded computer was chosen as part of the solution.

Requirements
‧Built to withstand fluctuating weather conditions, wide temperature range (-20 ~ 60° C), shock, and
vibration
‧Fully sealed to protect against dust and water
‧Easy to maintain and install with the utmost reliability
‧Compact design, fanless, low power consumption
‧Offering 2 PCI and 1 PCIe x1 expansion slots for further vertical applications
‧Accepts a widerange of DC power sources

System
The China highway system requires a high quality, fanless IPC with PCI/PCIe expansion, and ARK-5260 with two PCIs and one PCIe x1 is more than adequate. Each surveillance camera is connected by a 4-port PCI video capture card. The camera is already integrated with a graphic card that makes the AD (analog-to-digital) conversion. Throughout the entire system, all of the ARK-5260s are connected to the server via Ethernet via LAN. Whenever a vehicle enters the electronic toll lane, a PCI-1761 is triggered, and it captures a license plate snapshot. The add-on PCIe Serial card connects with electronic toll sensors for toll collection via RS-485 interface. This partnership has made it possible for China to implement effective, fast, and reliable monitoring of their burgeoning highways.

Conclusion
The ARK-5260 fanless embedded IPC is perfectly suited for electronic toll applications because it offers three PCI/PCIe expansion slots, LPT, and dual movable HDD trays. All electronics are conveniently protected in a sealed housing, and are equipped with thermal fins for easy cooling – ideal when space and environmental demands are crucial, as in the case of China’s outdoor traffic systems. Not only did the ARK-5260provide vivid communication and connectivity for China’s highway system, Advantech’s software customization services helped fine tune the Linux-based OS according to the needs of the China highway development department.

Suggested Application Implementation

ARK-5260  Fanless Embedded Box IPC with Intel® Atom™ D510 processor and PCIe/2 x PCI Expansion slots

ARK-3403  Cost Effective Intel® Atom™ D510/D525 Solution with 2 PCI Expansion Slots and Multiple I/Os