Skip to main content

Siemens cuts through traffic

Siemens has launched an alternative traffic detection system that uses magnetic disturbances to detect vehicles and low power wireless technology to transmit data to host controllers. According to Siemens head of product management Keith Manston, the WiMag system offers a cost effective detection system for stopline, vehicle actuation, SCOOT and MOVA applications. “Using a battery-powered wireless magnetometer sensor which lies beneath the surface of the road, the WiMag system utilises disturbances in the e
October 31, 2012 Read time: 2 mins

Siemens has launched an alternative traffic detection system that uses magnetic disturbances to detect vehicles and low power wireless technology to transmit data to host controllers.

According to 1134 Siemens head of product management Keith Manston, the WiMag system offers a cost effective detection system for stopline, vehicle actuation, SCOOT and MOVA applications. “Using a battery-powered wireless magnetometer sensor which lies beneath the surface of the road, the WiMag system utilises disturbances in the earth’s magnetic field to detect passing and stationary vehicles, and relays the information to the traffic controller without the need for expensive cabling or duct works,’ said Manston.

For new sites in particular, the WiMag system is said to offer a more cost effective and flexible solution than installing traditional loop detectors, especially where detection is required at significant distances from the traffic controller. Being battery-powered, wirelessly linked and smaller in size than traditional loop detectors, WiMag is also said by Siemens to lend itself to installation at remote locations, as well as being less prone to damage by street works.

With an inbuilt low-power wireless transmitter/receiver and a dedicated battery, each sensor can detect and transmit data to an associated Access Point or battery-powered repeater unit. Simply installed in the carriageway as a loop equivalent device, the in-road sensors may be located up to 300m from the host controller, using repeater units where necessary.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • TRL and GCA enter partnership agreement
    July 9, 2013
    TRL and GCA have entered a partnership agreement to undertake consultancy and research projects sharing resources, technology and staff. A consulting engineering firm based in Atlanta, Georgia, GCA is a leading specialist in traffic engineering and intelligent transportation systems, focussing on providing transport strategies for optimising the movement of people, goods and services. UK-based TRL’s Traffic and Software Business Unit provides consultancy and develops world leading traffic control systems su
  • Bartco and SRL Traffic Systems develop integrated traffic lights
    April 7, 2017
    Variable message sign manufacturer Bartco UK says it is working with SRL Traffic Systems to create a portable variable message sign (VMS) to be integrated with temporary traffic lights SRL Traffic Systems approached Bartco UK to create the manufacturer’s smallest VMS, designed to show basic safety information during temporary traffic light installation and road works.
  • New developments are pushing the pace of progress in asphalt paving
    January 4, 2013
    New developments will broaden the asphalt paving market - Mike Woof reports. A new approach to materials could help address rising bitumen costs. Increased use of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) in road construction can cut a major chunk from paving costs, with an array of technologies now available. In the US, RAP is one of the most widely recycled materials and current techniques allow roads built with this material to perform well for all traffic conditions. Some European countries are also making widesp
  • MTVs help transfer material efficiently
    June 20, 2016
    Mention the letters MTV and most people will think you’re referring to Music Television, the firm that revolutionised the music video. But in the road construction sector the letters have another meaning: Material Transfer Vehicle. Roadtec pioneered the MTV concept with its Shuttle Buggy, which it introduced in 1989. The concept was a novel one, providing a transition between the truck hauling the asphalt to the site and the asphalt paver. The idea of the machine was that it would provide a buffer system