Electronic signboards, due to be installed on all Cape Town's major highways by the end of 2009, may help to ease the city's traffic congestion by informing motorists about slowdowns and accident scenes and suggesting alternate routes.
The tender to install the signboards has recently been awarded to local companies Sport and Traffic Technologies and Metacom, who are providing the communications infrastructure to support the network of electronic signboards.
“Giving motorists accurate information on traffic conditions can go a long way towards easing congestion,” says SATT MD Frank Mac Beath. “The system feeds information from a network of cameras to a central control room, where operators can assess the situation and decide what messages to send motorists via the signboards.”
“The system relies on fast, reliable communication between the control centre and the signboards out on the highways,” says Metacom's chief technology officer Jako Winter. “We're supplying a comprehensive solution, using our own virtual private network (VPN) built on the existing infrastructure of the cellular networks. Our communication devices all have dual SIM cards so they can instantly switch over if any of the networks go down. It's a tried and tested solution with thousands of devices in the field already.”
“Traditional communication solutions mean digging up roads to lay cables and are very expensive,” adds Metacom MD R'ean van Niekerk. “Using cellular technology means more cost-effective communication without compromising reliability. It also means than we can remotely monitor all our devices in the field and maintain them in the rare event that there's a problem, without needing to send a technician to the site.”
SATT MD Frank Mac Beath says cellular communication is extremely effective both as a first line solution and as backup to other communication technologies. “There is a huge problem with cable theft and it can take weeks to fix, so we always use cellular communication as a backup to fibre,” says Mac Beath. “It's easy to roll out, reliable, very low-maintenance and doesn't suffer from the noise issues we are starting to see with WiFi.”
Mac Beath says this reliability has been proven in other joint projects between Metacom and SATT, including signage for the Cape Town International Convention Centre and the Chapman's Peak scenic drive as well as the Ben Schoeman highway, in Gauteng. “It's a really solid, industrial product. I've had some units out in the field for six or seven years and none have failed yet, even though the traffic environment in particular is incredibly corrosive.”
Images of existing projects in operation are available at http://www.satt.co.za/gallery.html.
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Metacom
Metacom, founded in 2001, is a specialist information and technology company focused on the conceptualisation, development, implementation and support of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication solutions and wide area networks. Predominantly active in the wireless communication market, Metacom pioneered a number of innovative solutions in the industrial, retail and banking environment for some of the largest organisations in the country. With a highly professional team of specialists, Metacom continuously researches new technology and develops solutions and expertise, in order to stay abreast of global trends. With its local production facility and service centres, Metacom delivers and maintains the highest quality products and services. As a customer focused organisation, Metacom partners with their customers to bring them solutions that optimise business revenue and customer service through increased efficiency and reduced costs. This allows their customers to focus on their core business and to gain a competitive edge on their competition. http://www.metacom.co.za
Sport and Traffic Technologies
Sport and Traffic Technologies specialises in turnkey installations - from systems design through manufacture, integration and installation - for electronic sport scoring and intelligent traffic management. Based in Cape Town, SATT has service centres in all major South African cities as well as global strategic alliances that have enable the company to successfully roll out and maintain systems in several countries across the world. http://www.satt.co.za
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