ADOT RWIS - ITS Roadway Equipment Functionality
Subsystem Description
'ITS Roadway Equipment' represents the ITS equipment that is distributed on and along the roadway that monitors and controls traffic and monitors and manages the roadway. This physical object includes traffic detectors, environmental sensors, traffic signals, highway advisory radios, dynamic message signs, CCTV cameras and video image processing systems, grade crossing warning systems, and ramp metering systems. Lane management systems and barrier systems that control access to transportation infrastructure such as roadways, bridges and tunnels are also included. This object also provides environmental monitoring including sensors that measure road conditions, surface weather, and vehicle emissions. Work zone systems including work zone surveillance, traffic control, driver warning, and work crew safety systems are also included.
Functional Object: Roadway Automated Treatment
'Roadway Automated Treatment' automatically treats a roadway section based on environmental or atmospheric conditions or under center control. Treatments include fog dispersion, anti–icing chemicals, etc. It communicates with the center and environmental sensors to support system activation and optionally with sign(s) that warn the driver in adverse conditions when the system is activated.
Functional Object: Roadway Barrier System Control
'Roadway Barrier System Control' includes the field equipment that controls barrier systems used to control access to transportation facilities and infrastructure. Barrier systems include automatic or remotely controlled gates, barriers and other access control systems.
Functional Object: Roadway Basic Surveillance
'Roadway Basic Surveillance' monitors traffic conditions using fixed equipment such as loop detectors and CCTV cameras.
Functional Object: Roadway Data Collection
'Roadway Data Collection' collects traffic, road, and environmental conditions information for use in transportation planning, research, and other off–line applications where data quality and completeness take precedence over real–time performance. It includes the sensors, supporting roadside infrastructure, and communications equipment that collects and transfers information to a center for archival.
Functional Object: Roadway Environmental Monitoring
'Roadway Environmental Monitoring' measures environmental conditions and communicates the collected information back to a center where it can be monitored and analyzed or to other field devices to support communications to vehicles. A broad array of weather and road surface information may be collected. Weather conditions that may be measured include temperature, wind, humidity, precipitation, and visibility. Surface and sub–surface sensors can measure road surface temperature, moisture, icing, salinity, and other metrics.
Functional Object: Roadway Field Device Support
'Roadway Field Device Support' monitors the operational status of field devices and detects and reports fault conditions. Consolidated operational status (device status, configuration, and fault information) are reported for resolution and repair. A local interface is provided to field personnel for local monitoring and diagnostics, supporting field maintenance, upgrade, repair, and replacement of field devices.
Functional Object: Roadway Incident Detection
'Roadway Incident Detection' provides incident detection using traffic detectors and surveillance equipment. It monitors for unusual traffic conditions that may indicate an incident or processes surveillance images, watching for potential incidents. It provides potential incident information as well as traffic flow and images to the center for processing and presentation to traffic operations personnel.
Functional Object: Roadway Passive Monitoring
'Roadway Passive Monitoring' monitors passing vehicles for a signature that can be used to recognize the same vehicle at different points in the network and measure travel times. Depending on the implementation and the penetration rate of the technology that is monitored, other point traffic measures may also be inferred by monitoring the number of vehicles within range over time. Today this approach is implemented most commonly using a Bluetooth receiver that passively monitors Bluetooth devices on–board passing vehicles and license plate readers that record the vehicle license plate number, but any widely deployed vehicle communications technology or feature that can be passively monitored to uniquely identify a vehicle could be used.
Functional Object: Roadway Safeguard System Control
'Roadway Safeguard System Control' includes field equipment that controls safeguard systems for transportation facilities and infrastructure. Safeguard systems include blast shields, exhaust systems and other automatic or remotely controlled systems intended to mitigate the impact of an incident.
Functional Object: Roadway Traffic Information Dissemination
'Roadway Traffic Information Dissemination' includes field elements that provide information to drivers, including dynamic message signs and highway advisory radios.
Functional Object: Roadway Variable Speed Limits
'Roadway Variable Speed Limits' includes the field equipment, physical overhead lane signs and associated control electronics that are used to manage and control variable speed limits systems. This equipment monitors traffic and environmental conditions along the roadway. The system can be centrally monitored and controlled by a Traffic Management Center or it can be autonomous, calculating and setting suitable speed limits, usually by lane. This application displays the speed limits and additional information such as basic safety rules and current traffic information to drivers.
Functional Object: Roadway Warning
'Roadway Warning' includes the field equipment used to warn drivers approaching hazards on a roadway. Warnings may be generated in response to roadway weather conditions, road surface conditions, traffic conditions including queues, obstacles or animals in the roadway, and any other transient events that can be sensed. The equipment monitors traffic and roadway conditions and may send data to a Traffic Management Center for processing or may process it to determine when a warning should be issued. When it is determined that a warning should be issued, the equipment is used to alert approaching drivers via dynamic warning signs, flashing lights, in–vehicle messages, etc.