SMART TOLL PLAZA AUTOMATION Field of Technology
The instant invention generally relates to a system and method for toll plaza automation and more particularly relates to a system and method for a tamper proof, reliable, scalable and an energy efficient toll plaza system and to an associated method thereof to build said system.
Background
The conventional methods & systems of toll plaza collection involve usage of Windows based PC Systems in harsh environment involving heat, 24 hour operations.
The conventional toll collection sequence comprises of selection of vehicle class/type at a toll terminal, followed by entry of vehicle registration number, operator confirmation to print toll receipt.
The current system and method of toll plaza automation are plagued with multiple problems comprising, but not limited to:
1. Design problems which relate to non-integration of PC systems with other related
systems e.g., boom barrier, camera, energy efficient lighting.
2. Operational problems relating to frequent breakdown of PC systems, tampering
with system data resulting in significant monetary loss, and generation of false records.
3. Economic costs:
A) Direct operational costs: relate to electricity consumption of equipment itself and supporting equipment (e.g. Air conditioners) and high maintenance costs due to frequent breakdown
B) Indirect operational costs : relate to audit costs to reduce data tampering
Further, apart from consuming a lot of energy, the conventional systems use Window PC based systems for toll operators with toll collection software loaded on them. Because of the generalized nature of such computer systems, other applications not necessarily related to the primary task of collection software (such as notepad, games, internet explorer etc.) are also loaded on such computer systems. Data and applications in these systems may also be accessed using USB ports, floppy drive, CD drive making the computer systems prone to virus attacks.
This results in misuse and downtime of assets due to use of other applications and potential virus attacks respectively.
The present invention provides for a configured toll operator terminal that avoids the usage of Windows/Linux based systems and hence avoids the above mentioned and many other problems. A typical toll operator terminal of the present invention comprises of a proprietary Panel view and industrial grade controllers. Such a toll terminal is further configured with process of toll collection which includes Graphical interface, a
predefined logic for data entry and validation with a database server. The panel view design makes the toll terminal of the present invention tamper proof.
Summary
An embodiment of the present invention provides a system for toll plaza automation. Such a system comprises of means to detect a vehicle approaching a predefined track of a toll terminal; means to prompt a user of said vehicle for input(s); means to classify the vehicle based on said input and a first classification criteria; means to validate said inputs based on a second predetermined criteria stored at a server unit and means to generate bill and acknowledgement receipt for validated inputs based on said vehicle classification wherein said toll plaza automation system is scalable, modular, available, renewable and tamper-proof.
Another embodiment of the present invention also provides a corresponding method for toll plaza automation, the method comprising the steps of detecting a vehicle approaching a predefined lane of toll plaza by processor units; prompting a user of said vehicle for input(s); classifying the vehicle based on said input and a first classification criteria; validating said inputs based on a second predetermined criteria stored at a server unit; and generating bill and acknowledgement receipt for validated inputs based on said vehicle classification wherein said method of toll plaza automation is scalable, modular, renewable and tamper-proof.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides a system and a scalable method for tamper proof, reliable and energy efficient toll plaza automation based on a predefined SmART (Scalable Modular Available Renewable Tamper-proof platform) of the present invention.
In another embodiment the system of the present invention operates as industrially rugged units that have high uptime and work efficiently in harsh environment.
In yet another embodiment, the operator terminal(s) of the present system do not run on Windows/Linux bases systems to avoid misuse and downtime of assets.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 illustrates an overview of the exemplary architecture used to implement the objectives of the present invention.
Figure 2 illustrates a SmART (Scalable Modular Available Renewable Tamper-proof) platform of the present invention.
Detailed Description
The various features of the preferred embodiment of present invention together with its objects and advantages thereof may be best understood by reference to the description
taken in conjunction with the accompanying schematic drawing(s) of the architecture. The system and method of the present invention are configured to provide Electronic toll collection (compatible across multiple platforms), a platform to configure and customize functionalities as per use needs and preferences. This includes provisions like AVCC, boom barrier, ETC, video)
Further, the present invention provides scalable architecture, by way of distributed controllers. The other main features of the present invention comprise report generation and corridor management, ease of integration across databases, an efficient design for high speed transactions.
The various advantages that result from the present system and corresponding method include the following but not limited to:
- overall energy efficiency (lighting, solar panels, wind mills, fuel cells)
- reduce fuel and power consumption for toll collection and related operations
- ambient temperature control
- net metering and energy monitoring
- building controls
- Dynamic messaging displays (remote update possible)
- Higher services levels as installation of the technical scheme spans across industries /locations
- Hardware from multiple vendors can be utilized and there is no dependency on a particular vendor.
The above mentioned and other features of the present invention are now described in detail. These features have been developed with various iterations and collection of field data.
Figure 1 provides network architecture of the SmART toll plaza system of the present invention. The configured units (105), (107) and (109) are components of the system. E.g. Unit 105 is the front end interface for a toll operator, 107 represents a processor of the transaction and executes predefined commands for printing, toll collection. (109) is the database which is used for reports and data validation.
Compared to existing systems in the market where general purpose computing machines are used at the frontend and at the backend and all processing of information is done at the database level, the present toll plaza system of the present invention has process functionality advantageously built in the front end which allows for speedier transaction and lower energy consumption.
Depending on the functionality and processing requirements, processor units 107 can be installed at individual lanes of a toll plaza or can also be centrally located thus giving flexibility into the architecture. The existing Personal Computer based system fail to provide such inventive technical features.
The present invention also provides an Automatic vehicle counter and classifier (AVCC) for achieving the objectives of the present invention.
Also, video and motion detection technologies are used to classify vehicles. The current solutions available in the market for vehicle classification do not fit the unique requirements of toll plaza.
The unique requirements of vehicle classification are
1. Unique 5(five) category classification as authorized by National Highway Authority of India based on number of axles of a vehicle and its dimensions.
2. Higher requirement of reliability and accuracy due to impact on the toll collection amount
3. Stop and start traffic flow. Most of the video systems that are currently installed are limited to measure moving traffic flow. At a typical toll plaza, each vehicle stops for payment of toll. This requires significant modification of existing technology.
4. Limitation on positioning of camera. This
The present invention provides for technical schemes to improve the identification and classification accuracy of video based classifications to more than 95%.
1. Defining grid based video zone mapping to estimate the size of the vehicle
2. Interfacing with proximity sensor to detect presence of vehicles
3. Reduce the shadow effect by utilizing higher spec video cameras (Mega pixel)
4. Triangulating information from multiple cameras
The present invention also provides for data entry validation to avoid inconsistency in the toll plaza system of the present invention.
The present invention also provides for Automatic vehicle counter and classifier (AVCC) feature of error detection in the toll collection process of the present invention. The primary toll collection activity in current systems is manual. However, through an integrated AVCC system, performance of each toll operator is measured thus making the toll plaza system of the present invention more efficient and effective.
A typical exemplary scenario describing the present invention with reference to Figure 1 is now herein described. In the present system, when a vehicle approaches a toll plaza, the AVCC (Automatic vehicle counter and classifier) unit classifies the vehicle based on predefined classification criteria. In this respect, an operator can either manually select a classification or the computer system can also prompt a user of the vehicle with classification criteria. The entered data is validated from a server unit. For validation, comparison of entered data is performed with data stored in the server unit.
Based on validated data, corresponding bills are issued. Printing means are used to print acknowledge receipts. The system is configured in a way such that false/invalid receipts are not generated by the operator terminal of the present invention. Also in case of mismatch between system classification and the manual vehicle classification, a separate entry is made into the database/server unit for a subsequent analysis by a supervisor.
In case, the toll plaza has electronic toll collection feature, the transaction as described above is automatically executed without the involvement of a toll operator.
Now, referring Figure 2 to illustrate the novel smart (Scalable Modular Available Renewable Tamper-proof) platform of the present invention.
The smart platform [208] of the present invention leads to reduced emission, security and environment awareness [201]. Said advantageous features of the present invention lead to implementation of electronic tolling [202] (etc. RFID), data aggregation and corridor management [203], energy efficiency [204] and renewable energy generation [205].
Use of energy efficiency [204] and renewable energy generation [205] results in resource efficiency [207].
Adopting electronic tolling allows for various types of tax collection operations [206] including but not limited to manual toll collection, AVCC (Automatic vehicle counter and classifier) and automatic toll collection.
The present invention is not intended to be restricted to any particular form or arrangement, or any specific embodiment, or any specific use, disclosed herein, since the same may be modified in various particulars or relations without departing from the spirit or scope of the claimed invention herein shown and described of which the apparatus or method shown is intended only for illustration and disclosure of an operative embodiment and not to show all of the various forms or modifications in which this invention might be embodied or operated.
The present invention has direct applications in fields which operate on the principle of renewable energy such as rooftop and ground installation solar power, wind turbines, fuel cells to substitute diesel power and in all those which require integration of all sources of power with UPS. Particularly, the technical scheme disclosed in the present invention can be used in Building integration system: Roof mounted PV, Energy efficient lighting Smart controls and like application areas.

We Claim
1. A system for toll plaza automation, comprising
- means to detect a vehicle approaching a predefined track of a toll terminal;
- means to prompt a user of said vehicle for input(s);
- means to classify the vehicle based on said input and a first classification criteria;
- means to validate said inputs based on a second predetermined criteria stored at a server unit and;
- means to generate bill and acknowledgement receipt for validated inputs based on said vehicle classification wherein said toll plaza automation system is scalable, modular, available, renewable and tamper-proof.

2. A system for toll plaza automation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein vehicles are detected based on video and motion technologies, said video and motion technologies configured to detect stationary and non-stationary vehicles.
3. A system for toll plaza automation as claimed in claim 1, wherein a toll plaza operator manually selects classification criteria.
4. A system for toll plaza automation as claimed in claim 1, wherein said classification criteria comprises of

- Number of axles of vehicles;
- Vehicle dimensions.

5. A system for toll plaza automation as claimed in claim 1, wherein a server unit is configured to store said first classification criteria to classify the vehicles and said second predetermined criteria to validate inputs.
6. A system for toll plaza automation as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system is configured to store a predefined entry in the server unit in case of mismatch between an automated vehicle classification and a manual vehicle classification.
7. A method for toll plaza automation, said method comprising the steps of

- detecting a vehicle approaching a predefined lane of toll plaza by processor units;
- prompting a user of said vehicle for input(s);
- classifying the vehicle based on said input and a first classification criteria;
- validating said inputs based on a second predetermined criteria stored at a server unit;
- and generating bill and acknowledgement receipt for validated inputs based
on said vehicle classification wherein said method of toll plaza automation is
scalable, modular, renewable and tamper-proof.
8. A method for toll plaza automation as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method
comprises the step of detecting vehicles based on video and motion
technologies, said video and motion technologies configured to detect stationary
and non-stationary vehicles.
9. A method for toll plaza automation as claimed in claim 1, comprising the step of
manually selecting classification criteria by a toll plaza operator.
10. A method for toll plaza automation as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
classification criteria comprises of
- Number of axles of vehicles;
- Vehicle dimensions.
11. A method for toll plaza automation as claimed in claim 1, comprising the step of
configuring the server unit to store said first classification criteria for classifying
the vehicles and said second predetermined criteria for validating inputs.
12. A method for toll plaza automation as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method
comprising the steps of storing a predefined entry in the server unit in case of
mismatch between an automated vehicle classification and a manual vehicle
classification.