Evaluation of detection sensitivity and count performance of advanced vehicle detection technologies at a signalized intersection

This article evaluates the stop-bar detection and count performance of three advanced vehicle detection sensors under various environmental conditions at a signalized intersection. Continuing advancements to vehicle detection technologies and improvements to their detection capabilities to overcome issues from impacting conditions necessitates testing the performance of new and upgraded sensor products to evaluate their performance and identify the most suitable products for various climates and weather conditions. The three evaluated sensors were Autoscope Encore video, Iteris Vantage Edge 2 video, and Wavetronix SmartSensor Matrix microwave sensors. The three sensors performed with high detection sensitivity during ideal environmental conditions with up to 99.9% detection accuracy levels and are suitable for traffic monitoring centers that rely on remote access to the monitored sites and the collected data. However, they were affected by some extreme adverse weather conditions, mainly daytime and nighttime snow, daytime fog, dawn lighting, and strong winds (for high mounted devices). The selection of a sensor product will depend on the type of application and the priority given to the type of traffic data being collected. Overall, the Iteris video sensor performed with the highest detection sensitivity levels, with the Wavetronix Matrix microwave sensor performing similarly under most conditions (14 of 19 evaluated conditions). Autoscope video provided the highest count accuracies and also provides a much broader data collection capability. The results of this study will help transportation agencies in selecting suitable vehicle detection sensor technologies for future installations within their jurisdiction and improved data collection.