Delhi, India’s second largest city, has developed a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system that uses IP video to help ensure its smooth operation.
BRT is a bus service that travels on exclusive lanes along designated routes. An example of its traffic management technology is the ability of BRT buses to signal a green light at an upcoming intersection to stay on schedule, reducing travel time by up to 30 per cent. Besides giving priority to buses, the system also provides dedicated lanes for pedestrian and non-motorised vehicles like cycles and rickshaws. By 2020 the local Government plans to build 26 BRT corridors in and around Delhi, covering a total distance of 310 km. Some seven corridors completed under the first phase.
A key to the successful operation of the system was the decision to deploy distributed and scalable IP video. IndigoVision’s system delivers video over long distances to a central control room and can be expanded as the BRT system grows over the next decade. With such long project timescales, deploying future-proof technology was important. IndigoVision says that it has proven its ability to provide this with IP Video systems that have been installed for over 10 years, which are still being actively used and expanded to this day.
The IP system was designed and installed by IndigoVision’s local Authorised Partner, Neural Integrated Systems Pvt Ltd for Siemens India Limited, the main contractor for the traffic management and signalling system.
“The quality and capability of the surveillance system is key to the operation of the BRT system,” says Goutam Roy, BRTS Project Manager at Siemens India. “The IP Video allows operators to monitor the smooth running of the system, identify illegal use of the bus lane by motorists and ensure bus drivers abide by the rules and do not deviate from the prescribed routes. This is achieved because the IndigoVision technology provides the operators with very good quality video through intuitive Video Management Software (VMS) and smooth control of PTZ cameras over large distances. The marriage of intelligent traffic management and live surveillance feeds allows the system to be closely controlled, reducing commuting times and saving money.”
It is low latency that enables smooth PTZ control over distances. The minimal transport delay across the network is due both to the compression deployed and the design of the distributed server-less architecture. IndigoVision has developed a technology call Activity Controlled Framerate (ACF), which reduces overall network bandwidth, further helping to reduce latency, the UK firm says. Operating in IndigoVision’s IP cameras and video encoders, ACF controls the framerate of the video stream based on the amount of motion in the scene. When there is no activity, video is streamed at minimal bandwidth; the instant any motion is detected, video is simultaneously transmitted at the maximum configured framerate. This reduces the bandwidth and video storage requirement for cameras monitoring generally static scenes or during quiet periods such as at night.
BRT are using other features to provide commuters with live traffic updates. IVSnap is a free simple utility that allows still images from a specified camera to be captured at regular intervals. These images are then posted and updated every minute on the BRT website, allowing users to plan their journeys based on the current traffic situation around Delhi – see www.dimts.in.
‘Control Center’, IndigoVision’s VMS, is used by operators in the central control room to view live video of the system and to analyse recorded footage in the event of an incident. Video is recorded on IndigoVision’s standalone Network Video Recorders (NVRs), which provide the authorities with 15 days of footage. Evidential video clips can be exported for use by Police for their investigation and prosecution of traffic offences. The recorded video is also a useful tool for the authorities to determine blame in the event of liability claims after accidents.
