New partnership established to improve safety at heavy-traffic railway level crossings

Using cutting-edge technologies such as lidar, Belam, a full-service systems integrator provides advanced solutions to transform smart cities by improving the safety and efficiency of transport infrastructure and rail systems. Through its partnership with Cepton, Belam was able to provide accurate obstacle detection at a busy rail intersection, with an automated system that minimizes unnecessary stops. As a result, traffic at the intersection has become more efficient.

Because lidars perform well at night and in various environmental conditions, the Vista-P90 lidars deployed as part of the Helius system outperformed other technologies tested to generate high-resolution 3D images of vehicles, people and other objects, 24 hours a day. Helius perception software processed lidar data to accurately classify objects and track their speeds and locations in real time.

Integrated with other sensors, including CCTV cameras used to record license plates during traffic violations and weather sensors used to determine weather conditions, Cepton’s lidar solutions have enabled a shift to intelligent level by providing the key information needed to provide traffic analysis and trigger the appropriate responses. to help save lives.

As a result, Belam’s system achieved over 99.9% accuracy in obstacle detection. This level of precision has allowed the crossing to achieve a higher safety rating, where passing trains are now allowed to pass at nearly twice the speed of normal.

Powered by Cepton’s patented Micro Motion Technology (CMM), the Vista-P90 lidar offers a wide field of view (90 ° horizontal x 40 ° vertical), as well as high resolution and long range. The sensor is rotational, frictionless and mirrorless, making it rugged and capable of continuous outdoor applications, even in harsh weather conditions. With multi-lidar aggregation, advanced computing, and low-bandwidth data output, the Helius intelligent lidar system is easy to integrate, scale, and maintain.

According to Cepton, the partnership opens up new applications for lidar-enabled smart cities. Intelligent level crossings can extend into a complete V2X solution, where not only trains but also cars can use real-time traffic data at intersections to avoid potential collisions and optimize travel routes. Road authorities could also benefit from traffic analyzes based on the number of vehicles and road users and the directions in which they travel through intersections to generate traffic management models and plans.

Aleksandras Zidokas, Commercial Director at Belam, said: “Our partnership with Cepton has helped us demonstrate the enormous potential of lidar technology in intelligent transport infrastructure. In addition to making railway intersections safer for road users, our lidar-compatible system has also significantly improved the flow of traffic.

Cepton CEO Dr Jun Pei added, “Lidar enables a higher level of safety for everyone on the road, not just drivers, and we have built our lidar solutions to achieve this goal. Our partnership with Belam enables the next generation of rail and road safety applications and extends the capabilities of our high performance lidars and perception solutions to the rail market. We look forward to further collaboration with Belam to make safer rail traffic a reality. “