IPfocus - IP UserGroup

IPfocusSouth Carolina Highways -Modernizing our motorwaysOptelecom-NKF improve the quality and scope of the South CarolinaDepartment of Transportation intelligent transport systemRoads have been around at least as long aspeople have and our priorities for traveling haveremained about the same throughout time:Whether we’re off to work or running an errand,we want to get wherever we’re going as quicklyas possible and arrive there safely. Yet today’sroads comprise more than just the physicalthoroughfares we traverse to our dailydestinations. Technology has given highwaysystems around the world an edge: It’s nowpossible to assess the situation before you hitthe road and drivers can easily select the safestand swiftest route for each particular trip.The power to plan aheadIn South Carolina, USA, the Department ofTransportation (SCDOT) has combined man’srudimentary desire for an efficient journey withthe power to plan ahead, making the SouthCarolina state highway system one of the best inthe nation. Behind their network of motorwaysis a complex of traffic cameras and variablemessage signs (VMS) connected to a plethora ofsensors and contacts. This traffic technologyculminates in an array of convenient media,from signals triggering traffic light changes tointernet sites and radio programs that providedrivers anywhere in the state with the most upto date information about road conditions andcongestion. The information collected by thevarious apparatus is also transmitted to acentral traffic control room in Columbia, SouthCarolina, where operators can monitor andpromptly react to situations by accordinglyadjusting the VMS and notifying the relevantauthorities as necessary.Ensuring an effective systemReliable information depends on a reliablenetwork, however, and comprehensive qualitycan’t be had in a hurry. Over the years, theSCDOT has worked closely with the leadingregional systems distributor, Temple, Inc., todevelop and maintain a steadfast and valuabletraffic system, but roadside conditions are harshand not all network equipment is up to the test.While traffic cameras and signals as well assensors, such as loop devices, are made to bearthe wear and tear of varied weather andhighway situations, the diverse range ofcontraptions designed to convey the collectedinformation often buckle under the ruggedcircumstances, and equipment failuresrecurrently plagued the SCDOT in its trafficsystem’s early years.Finding a solutionFully aware of their customer’s difficulties,Temple started testing an assortment of fieldhardenedfiber optic transmission equipmentthat could endure the severe conditions inwhich it was to be installed. In 2003, Templediscovered Optelecom-NKF (manufacturer ofSiqura®), a supplier of advanced IP and fibervideo surveillance solutions. Intrigued by thewide temperature range in which Optelecom-NKF’s fiber optic transmitter and receiversolutions can operate (-40° F to +165° F), Templecommissioned Optelecom-NKF to provide theSCDOT with dependable devices that wouldensure a consistent and unfailing flow of trafficinformation, and it turned out that Temple hadhappened upon a saving solution.Mr. Shirley adds, “Today, through the use ofhigh-tech fiber optic equipment by Optelecom-NKF, the SCDOT offers the motoring public asafer commute on the South Carolina highways.This fiber optic video and data transmissionequipment sends real-time traffic information toa central traffic control center allowing theSCDOT to monitor the roadways to ensure timelyresponses to incidents, rendering a safercommute for the motoring public.”The SCDOT traffic network primarily uses Siqurahigh-density CWDM transmitters to send videoand data over a single fiber to the traffic controlcenter in Columbia, where operators monitorthe traffic situation and manage the electronicsigns and traffic advisory reports can begenerated.Reliable roads through reliable relationshipsThe success of the Siqura equipment has led toa long term relationship between the SCDOT,Temple, and Optelecom-NKF in whichtransmission failures in the SCDOT’s CCTVsystem have become few and far between.“Temple’s representation and dedication toexcellence in providing services and products toits customers in the Carolina states and to theTransportation Industry is the reason weproudly consider them one of our PremierDistributors,” Optelecom-NKF Key AccountManager, Dean Porter, tells. ”It has been ourpleasure to work with them and the SCDOT inproviding advanced fiber technology products,training, and services that meet and exceed thedemanding requirements of this industry.”Contributing to the evolution of traffictechnologyDue to its reliability and quality, the SCDOT andTemple have continued for the past seven yearsto replace older and failed equipment withSiqura fiber solutions. Consequently, they havebeen able to take the evolution of roads to thenext level by guaranteeing drivers the serviceand information they’ve come to rely on for asmooth trip.18_issue 27