Lithuanian vision systems integrator FIMA has partnered with Latvian mobile network provider LMT to test a new traffic monitoring platform on the streets of Vilnius.
Future-focused mobile network operator LMT (Latvijas Mobilais Telefons) has been a leading light in Latvia’s push towards telecommunications innovation and next-gen services. Founded in 1992, the company helped set up Latvia’s first mobile banking solution in 2000, rolled out GPRS across the country in 2002 and, as a leading sponsor of the LMT Smart Future Conference, has been actively developing solutions that use 5G technology such as smart cities.
Monitoring Lithuanian traffic violations
Now, in partnership with FIMA, a Lithuanian integrator of vision systems, LMT has launched a transport monitoring system that will provide Lithuania’s capital Vilnius with statistics on traffic violations. During the initial test phase of the system, the automated monitoring system will detect three types of traffic violations at a specific intersection in the city – driving through red lights, making illegal turns and the illegal use of a bus lane.
In the first example of LMT collaborating with a vision systems integrator on a project, rather than directly with a municipality itself, the project will become the first test of the monitoring system’s whitelist/blacklist functionality at such a scale, detecting and analysing details such as the vehicle types and number plates of drivers who are seen breaking Lithuanian traffic laws.
The automated monitoring system will detect three types of traffic violations at a specific intersection in the city – driving through red lights, making illegal turns and the illegal use of a bus lane. Image: LMT
Exporting vision-based monitoring
“This collaboration marks our second export customer, and we’re pleased it’s in the Baltics – our home region,” said Glebs Cernovs, partnerships development manager at LMT, who previously supplied a transport monitoring system to look over the city of Graz in Austria, where the solution involved object identification and classification, object location and trajectory and the identification of licence plate numbers and traffic light signals.
How the smart traffic monitoring platform works
Combining high-resolution cameras with machine vision and edge computing, traffic infringements are detected and then sent to edge computing for evaluation. Once infractions are detected, the required information is then sent to servers via the mobile network to await further analysis. This use of edge computing means the existing mobile network can be utilised, reducing installation time to a matter of hours as it only needs an electrical connection.
The provision of a full traffic monitoring system without the need for installation construction means municipalities don’t need to make significant investments in their infrastructure to achieve smart-city capabilities. The solution is also fully GDPR-compliant, and both 4G compatible and 5G-ready, meaning it can be installed in any city covered by a mobile network.
“We especially want to thank the FIMA team for their patience and enthusiasm in introducing new solutions, which is crucial in an innovative environment,” said Cernovs. “We are also open to new collaborations on testing the LMT smart traffic monitoring platform across Europe, especially in the CEE region as we see plenty of potential to enahnce traffic safety there.”
