Have You Suspected Low Revenue Due to Inaccurate Vehicle Counts?

January, 2007

For many years accurate and dependable vehicle count information has been needed for managers who operate vehicle-parking systems. Over the past thirty years Inductive Loop Detectors have proven very reliable for vehicle detection, but Loop Detector technology has not been capable of accurately counting closely spaced vehicles, commonly referred to as tailgating vehicles. Until this time Loop Detector technology has experienced two problems in providing accurate vehicle counts.
The first problem has been the inability to accurately count closely spaced vehicles over the same loop. The second problem is when a metal object is placed in the area of the detection loop the detector provides a continuous output signal. When the detector is providing a continuous output signal multiple vehicles can pass over the detection loop without being recognized. One problem in past Loop Detector technology is two vehicles tailgating are seen as one elongated vehicle. This problem commonly occurs when slow moving vehicles are driving into a parking facility. When vehicle tailgating occurs vehicle counts are lost. This provides for the possibility of lost revenue due to lost vehicle counts.
In the past some products have claimed to have the ability for detecting tailgating vehicles, but without any degree of success. A recently completed development of advanced digital processing technology reliably counts vehicles as closely spaced as bumper to bumper. In addition metal objects placed in the area of the loop are ignored. This new advanced digital technology, which has been in development over the past five years, provides accurate and reliable count information.
The new detector is designed to connect directly to the industry standard 2.5-foot by 6-foot loop, and interface with existing control systems. The anti-tailgate detector as proven to perform reliably with 2.5-foot by 6-foot loops located in dirt, asphalt, and reinforced concrete. It detector incorporates algorithms that detect and accurately count tailgating vehicles. A second benefit of the new anti-tailgate algorithm is the ability to count vehicles when a metal object is placed in the area of the loop. In the past placement of metal objects in the area of the loop would defeat the counting ability of the loop detector. Again, this provides for the possibility of lost revenue.
Following installation of the detector a simple one-time calibration is required. Calibration takes into account possible environmental effects on the loop, such as reinforcing steel in the pavement, metallic objects permanently located in close proximity to the loop, etc.
The detector has two output relays. The first output relay is a standard presence output, which provides a continuous contact closure during loop occupancy. The second output relay offers three possible configurations: 1.) A pulsed contact closure occurs for each vehicle passing over the loop. 2.) A pulsed contact closure occurs for each vehicle tailgating the first vehicle passing over the loop. 3.) A pulsed contact closure occurs for each additional vehicle (after the first vehicle) passing over the loop while a gate is in the open position. The third configuration requires a gate open input signal from the gate controller to the Model L-ATG detector.