Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| gettyimagesbank |
By Ko Dong-hwan
Drones will start hovering over Seoul to monitor traffic congestion more accurately and even predict road conditions, according to the city government on Monday.
Starting in September, the machines will fly up to 230 meters over the city to see where traffic jams are occurring, according to the City Transportation Office under the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
The authority said the drones will enable more advanced traffic monitoring as they can watch hundreds of vehicles in motion from high above simultaneously.
The flying eyes can also single out a certain vehicle to study it and, depending on ambient traffic conditions, calculate possible routes the vehicle may take. Considering that multiple drones can have such data collected from hundreds of other vehicles across the city in real time, it can help traffic flow more efficiently.
Such a feature is out of the question with conventional methods using stationary surveillance cameras that are positioned just a few meters above the ground ― giving only a low-altitude view of traffic.
Another merit of drones is their artificial intelligence that will automatically read traffic movements, carry out calculations and present traffic data.
The machines can also record videos. This recorded data will be transferred in real time to the Seoul Transport Operation & Information Service (TOPIS), the city's central traffic monitoring center. The command center, upon receiving the data, can make necessary decisions depending on real-time traffic conditions and pop-up notifications on electronic display boards visible to drivers along roads and city highways.
 |
| Vehicles at an intersection near Seokchon Lake in southeastern Seoul's Jamsil are tagged by a traffic monitoring drone monitoring from above, in this image released Tuesday. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government |
Such a method beats the traditional ground-based cameras which are not capable of analysis and thus require humans to monitor and analyze the video feeds.
The upcoming strategy for Seoul TOPIS is expected to help the city authority greatly in cases where spontaneous decision-making is often required, like watching over large-scale rallies, marathons, parades and outdoor concerts in areas shared by vehicles.
City Transportation Office Chief Yoon Jong-jang said that the implementation of drones into the city's comprehensive traffic control system will strengthen further the ways the city responds in real time to road conditions as well as large-scale events.
"The city government's traffic administration will keep pursuing scientific breakthroughs to improve the quality and safety of citizens," said Yoon.
