Lateral Larrikins
Lateral Larrikins
Australia is at the cutting edge of ITS but lags behind in ways that could mean commercial life or death. Bruce Harris reports.
Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) are sexy. The technology promises everything from hands-free driving to SMS-delivered individual route planning. In between, there is a whole sub-stratum of the information management industry in which Australia is a world leader.
ITS is the application of computer and communication technologies to transport systems to increase efficiency and safety, and reduce pollution. It integrates information, computer, communications and vehicle-sensing technologies. Applications include traffic light, motorway and tunnel management systems, toll collection, on-board computer systems, bus and rail management systems and passenger information. Real-time information is the "currency "of ITS and the management of that information can have life and death consequences.
Australia has long been very advanced in certain aspects of ITS, such as research, technology and implementation. For example, the Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS), recognised as the world's leading traffic signal control system and used in over 80 cities around the world, was commissioned back in 1972. ITS Australia has over 450 Australian companies recorded in its sector capability database. Many of these companies successfully export their technology and systems around the world. "ITS is no longer the poor cousin of information technology but is right at the cutting edge of technology development," says Brent Stafford, Executive Director of the industry's peak organisation, ITS Australia.
ITS in Australia
Although ITS technology and applications in Australia are among the best in the world, the management of ITS information is not. Australia is also behind other countries in areas such as slow adoption by the freight logistics industry, lack of a national traveller information number and interoperability problems.
Professor Phil Charles, Director, Centre for Transport Strategy, University of Queensland points to the contrast between the enormous quantity of real-time data and the lack of sophistication in converting that data to useable information".
Stafford agrees and says that interoperability is a major challenge for the ITS industry. He sees the ideal ITS environment as "all these disparate sources of information being aggregated on the one server. Then services such as an SMS text message each morning setting out the alternatives for our travel, known delays and predictive features could be available."
Hardware and data storage are not the major difficulty according to Dr Hussein Dia, Director of the Intelligent Transport Systems Research Laboratory at the University of Queensland. He says, "Developing algorithms to fuse the data from different sources and extracting useful information is the main challenge. Data mining and AI-based techniques such as neural networks (which are ideal for looking at patterns in the data) seem promising but it is still early stages."
The main management problem in Australia is that the data is held on a State basis and by a wide range of commercial and government operators. It is a legal nightmare and commercially risky to negotiate contracts with all these different entities and their different systems. Government has recognised the problem and is working on interoperable specifications through the Australian Transport Council.
Australian ITS companies believe that their emphasis is not so much on the development of new technology but its application to difficult practical situations. They are seen worldwide as leaders in lateral thinking. No-one is sure if this is because of our slightly "larrikin" attitude and independence of thought, our pragmatism or our relative lack of funds and the need to get things right quickly. But the perception certainly exists.
Images and the accidental golfer
ITS has some of the most advanced uses combining imaging and real-time data. The Automated Incident Recording System is a good example of this - and also of the bizarre ways in which something so practical can come about.
It began with golf. A system was being developed in Japan to video golf swings using memory buffers to trigger the camera at the sound of the ball being struck. Mitsubishi took the idea and developed a system for monitoring traffic accidents - the sound of tyres squealing or breaking glass set off cameras that would record an accident.
Across the Atlantic, the US police have recently trialed the technology that further demonstrates the advantages of interoperability. During the course of a bank robbery, Californian police can ask for the security pictures from inside the bank to be sent to their PDAs as they drive to the scene of the crime.
Privacy
Privacy is a major issue. In Australia, many commercial vehicles now have on-board computers which mean that, if a driver exceeds the speed limit, there will be a corporate speeding fine waiting by the time the driver arrives back at the office. Data recording devices will eventually be installed in all cars performing a function like airplane "black boxes". This will raise the question of who will be legally entitled to this information - insurance companies, enforcement authorities, employers, others injured in an accident?
Because ITS technology allows the collection and storage of data which can be used to monitor individuals' movements, ITS Australia has developed a set of ITS privacy principles - for example, proper justification for monitoring, the option of entering into transactions anonymously, collecting the minimum necessary information, protection of collected data from loss or unauthorised disclosure.
The future is telematics
For consumers, the new face of ITS will be "telematics" - electronic dashboard technology in vehicles. It has been predicted that, within five years, telematics devices will be installed in 80 per cent of new vehicles.
At present, there are high-end dashboard displays which give satellite positioning, route planning and vehicle diagnostics. Soon, there will be satellite communication which alerts accident teams if the vehicle's airbag is triggered, provides para-medics with the driver's medical history and even transmits images from inside the vehicle. The owner of a vehicle will be able to pre-set geographical travel boundaries and will be notified if the vehicle goes beyond those boundaries. Voice-activated commands will provide driver access to Internet facilities such as email and information.
The leap into the future for Dr Nariida Smith, Transport Futures Team Leader at the CSIRO, is perhaps ten years ahead. She predicts vehicles with visioning devices which allow them to "see", relay information to the vehicle computer and communicate with other vehicles in the area.
US expert, Professor Michael Meyer, predicts that "voice activation will be a dominant technology. Interactive vehicle-highway control systems will be widespread."
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