LoRa® based multi-sensor system for heavy-duty vehicle detection in restricted areas

¹ Automation and Applied Informatics Department, Politehnica University Timisoara, Timisoara, Romania

Abstract

This paper focuses on the design and implementation of a low cost and low energy consumption system for detecting the access of heavy duty vehicle in restricted areas. Rather than the more common approach of using image acquisition through traffic cameras, the system uses the sound and vibrations generated by the operation of heavy duty vehicles. This approach can be especially useful in areas where the implementation of a conventional traffic monitoring system is extremely cost ineffective due to the lack of an appropriate network infrastructure, LoRa® modulation offers great advantages incomparison to other methods regarding the range and power consumption needed for maintaining the communication between the sensors and the back-end infrastructure. Based on the information offered by the vibration and sound sensors a prediction about the presence of a heavy-duty vehicle can be made,the configuration option of the detection thresholds for the measured information allows a fine tuning of the algorithm. Identification of the incident location is done via a unique identifier of the acquisition system present in a database, entry done at installation, to avoid the integration of a GPS receiver. Alerts are displayed on a map upon identification for further measures.