Lidar manufacturer Innoviz Technologies has signed a contract to provide a lidar-based collision detection system for highways, tunnels and bridges across Israel.
The company innovation, based in Tel Aviv, is collaborating with Drive Group on the collision system after testing other on-road and off-road solutions. After feedback from the users
Lidar sensor on roof
It has been recognized that a lidar-based technological solution is needed to solve common traffic problems.
According to Innoviz data, about 15,000 collisions with bridges and tunnels occur annually in the United States. This results in approximately $18,000 in damage per accident, or a total of approximately $270 million per year. With the advent of smart cities and connected infrastructure, this system could be a potential solution. Up to three percent of bridges worldwide are damaged in this way.
Drive Group is an operator of freeways and toll roads in Israel and worked with Innoviz to commercialize the early stages of the collision detection system. After testing, the company became the distributor of the technology for a broader rollout in the country.
The system uses data collected by the Innoviz lidar sensors on both sides of a highway and several kilometers before the entrance of a bridge or tunnel. The system establishes a safe operating zone and detects vehicle heights or widths that may exceed the range set by road operators.
An alert is then triggered to identify the license plate information and communicate it to local authorities. These authorities then step in and stop the vehicle before a potential collision occurs. Innoviz explained that with intelligent transportation systems, these alerts can be wirelessly sent directly to the vehicle at risk to banish the danger.
The system can potentially reduce false alarms generated by camera-based software solutions on bridges and in tunnels that create 3D maps of the world based on 2D images. According to Innoviz, lidar systems provide a more accurate 3D visualization of a vehicle’s dimensions.