On the Road Infrared cameras can help track vehicle occupancy.

How regional interstates and downtown streets are used will indicate the success of efforts to reduce air pollution.

photo by David Roberts Researchers are using a computer-assisted infrared imaging system to determine vehicle occupancy, which will allow government officials to assess efforts aimed at encouraging carpooling. (250-dpi JPEG version - 500k)

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Georgia Tech Research Institute engineers have developed a new technology for counting the number of occupants in vehicles passing by at highway speeds. The system could help the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), which funded the research with the Federal Highway Administration, gather traffic planning data, says principal research scientist Gary Gimmestad.

"This technology will enable the GDOT to assess the impact of efforts to reduce air pollution by increasing vehicle occupancy," Gimmestad says.

The device is a computer-assisted infrared imaging system. The system uses an infrared strobe light mounted on a roadside tripod to illuminate each passing vehicle's interior. A high-speed flash (1/10,000th second) "freezes" the vehicle's motion, allowing an infrared camera to digitally record images of the occupants, who are then counted, either manually or by computer analysis.

Because the infrared light is invisible to human eyes, the flash does not distract drivers. It does, however, provide enough light to penetrate tinted windows and overcome the glare on windows during the daytime.

The system is computer controlled, using specially developed software. The software controls and synchronizes the system to acquire data from the camera and an infrared count/classifier, and to display and store all the data.

Gimmestad recently conducted a demonstration of this new technology for GDOT officials. He hopes a prototype may be evaluated in Georgia soon.

— Lea A. McLees

For more information, contact Gary Gimmestad, Electro-Optics, Environment and Materials Laboratory, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Atlanta, GA 30332-0834. (Telephone: 404/894-3419) (E-mail: gary.gimmestad@gtri.gatech.edu)

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Last updated: May 28, 1999