Video Based Vehicle Detection and its Application in Intelligent Transportation Systems

Video based vehicle detection technology is an integral part of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), due to its non-intrusiveness and comprehensive vehicle behavior data collection capabilities. This paper proposes an efficient video based vehicle detection system based on Harris-Stephen corner detector algorithm. The algorithm was used to develop a stand alone vehicle detection and tracking system that determines vehicle counts and speeds at arterial roadways and freeways. The proposed video based vehicle detection system was developed to eliminate the need of complex calibration, robustness to contrasts variations, and better performance with low resolutions videos. The algorithm performance for accuracy in vehicle counts and speed was evaluated. The performance of the proposed system is equivalent or better compared to a commercial vehicle detection system. Using the developed vehicle detection and tracking system an advance warning intelligent transportation system was designed and implemented to alert commuters in advance of speed reductions and congestions at work zones and special events. The effectiveness of the advance warning system was evaluated and the impact discussed.