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

  • Variable message signs deliver real time travel information
    April 10, 2012
    Variable Message Sign systems are helping ease traffic congestion and keeping drivers better informed on key highways across Europe and the rest of the world. Guy Woodford looks at some of their recent applications By coupling its Intelligent Travel Time System (ITTS) with Bluetooth technology, Alcatel-Lucent is measuring traffic flow in real time and conveying it seamlessly to local authorities in the French city of Vélizy-Villacoublay. The city, a major business enterprise hub 14km south-west of central
  • Urban traffic control system upgrade
    February 6, 2012
    Nottingham city in central England has upgraded its Urban Traffic Control (UTC) system to PC SCOOT, supplied and installed by Siemens, to further improve the management of the traffic network around the city. PC SCOOT will initially monitor over 450 junctions and all major routes within Nottingham, with the aim of reducing congestion and CO2 emissions and improving journey times.
  • Siemens Mobility, WJ in UK partnership
    August 13, 2020
    Temporary speed cameras at road works will include Siemens Sicore II ANPR cameras.
  • The use of telematics in construction machines is growing
    May 20, 2015
    Demand for telematics technology is growing, as equipment users begin to lean the value of these systems – Alan Dron reports With construction projects increasingly operating to wafer-thin profit margins, any technological assistance that can keep the accounts in the black is welcome. This is particularly the case with those projects where contractors can share a larger slice of the profits if they complete their work ahead of schedule. The downside, of course, is that they also share the pain if the