This event is sponsored by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) with support from ITS America, one of the three event organizers.  The NTCIP Interoperability Showcase is hosted within the booths of several manufacturers and vendors during the ITS World Congress in Orlando, Florida.  NEMA member companies will be demonstrating NTCIP interoperability in a free-form configuration mimicking real-life situations.

Using a wireless communications network inside of the exhibition hall, each device and central system is interconnected allowing demonstrations in an ad-hoc setup. Conflicts such as competing messages displayed on the same DMS will be handled as done in real life, i.e., the message priority will determine whether the current message is replaced by another message.

The diagram below shows the conceptual setup of the NTCIP Interoperability Showcase.

NEMA has prepared a flyer announcing this event and will distribute it prior to the ITS World Congress.

IDI has taken a lead role in this demonstration showcase by designing and coordinating the efforts including configuration development, provision of main wireless access point, interaction with ITS America (with NEMA staff), and dry-run testing.  IDI will provide several fully NTCIP-compliant pieces of equipment for this showcase including its central system, ATC traffic controller, ESS weather station controller, and CCTV camera.

More information is available on NEMA and the ITS World Congress.

Intelligent Devices is proud to announce a new contract for an Intelligent Border Crossing project. IDI is working with MAC Electric, Hensel Phelps Construction, the General Services Administration and Customs and Border Patrol to integrate and implement an Intelligent Border Crossing System for the new Nogales Land Port of Entry on the United States-Mexico Border in Nogales, AZ.  This marks an entry into a new market segment for Intelligent Devices which brings new opportunities to implement ITS solutions in the Homeland Security market segment.

Intelligent Devices will be serving in a design/implement capacity to MAC Electric for the traffic signalization and dynamic message signage (DMS Signs) for the Port of Entry.  Intelligent Devices will be using NTCIP standards to integrate the DMS signs, traffic signal heads, video detectors, border patrol agent input panels, border crossing gates and other traffic detectors under a single system by using ATC traffic signal controllers and Intelligent Control Device Manager.  Most importantly, the system will allow for agents in booths to control what messages are on the signs through the physical buttons that are installed by MAC Electric in the agent booths.  Intelligent Control Device Manager will allow for status and health monitoring and emergency overrides of all systems via the scenarios feature.

The project is still in the design phase with of the above mentioned stakeholders involved.  Although the GSA/CBP timeframe for the overall project completion date is far in the future, MAC Electric and Intelligent Devices expect to complete the project by the end of October with all implementation and testing completed.

Intelligent Devices, together with our distributor Americas Resources, was selected to implement a central system for a number of devices including SOS phones, radars, cameras, weather stations, and variable message signs in Mexico.

Project Description:

Intelligent NETworks Device Manager was deployed in the Pacifico Norte region to assist monitoring and control of several devices. These devices include radars, which provide occupancy and speed data to the user. This colors the map to indicate in an easy to read interface with occupancy data. IDI’s software also controls the variable message signs, and places them on a map with their real position. Weather stations are placed on the map that retrieves current conditions including temperatures, precipitation levels, and air pressure. Device Manager polls and monitors approximately 130 devices.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Laredo Border Safety Inspection Facility (BSIF) is scheduled to have Autoscope video detection systems (VIVDS) and McCain ATC signal control systems (Flow Manager) installed as part of an upgrade project. In order for TxDOT to effectively control these systems from their existing central control system, they need the VIVDS and Flow Manager systems to be compliant with the TxDOT central’s XML-based control interface. IDI’s solution includes a Windows-based service to translate VIVDS commands and an embedded driver running on the McCain ATCs to translate FM commands.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The system developed for Ardan is IDI’s Pool Count Controller (PCC) system. The PCC system uses pairs of inductive loops at entries and exits to parking facilities to determine the number of vehicles moving in and out of each facility. This allows the system to maintain a constant count of the available spaces in the parking facility. The central control system, Intelligent NETworks Device Manager, then polls the space availability information and displays it on the system’s NTCIP DMS signs. This information may be displayed quantitatively (i.e. “93 spaces available”), qualitatively (i.e. “LOT FULL”), or a combination of the two. The Jerusalem PCC system additionally has the capability to display Hebrew text and numerals on the DMS signs.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Intelligent Devices will be serving in a design/implement capacity to MAC Electric for the traffic signalization and dynamic message signage (DMS Signs) for the Port of Entry.  Intelligent Devices will be using NTCIP standards to integrate the DMS signs, traffic signal heads, video detectors, border patrol agent input panels, border crossing gates and other traffic detectors under a single system by using ATC traffic signal controllers and Intelligent Control Device Manager.  Most importantly, the system will allow for agents in booths to control what messages are on the signs through the physical buttons that are installed by MAC Electric in the agent booths.  Intelligent Control Device Manager will allow for status and health monitoring and emergency overrides of all systems via the scenarios feature.

The project is still in the design phase with of the above mentioned stakeholders involved.  Although the GSA/CBP timeframe for the overall project completion date is far in the future, MAC Electric and Intelligent Devices expect to complete the project by the end of October with all implementation and testing completed.

CTICC has become widely regarded as one of the leading convention centers in the southern hemisphere. It is situated in the heart of Cape Town which is one of the top ten destinations in the world.

The center has over 1,300 parking spaces in 3 different parking facilities. This layout led to some confusion to motorists on where to park. The center decided to deploy an Intelligent Parking Guidance System to make finding a parking space easier for their clients.

This project determines space availability from the cash management system. Intelligent Devices developed a driver that connects the parking guidance system to the existing cash management system to receive parking availability information. This data is then collected and displayed on over 5 external VMS signs around the convention center. This project included supplying, installation and support of intelligent parking devices and software.

Scope of Services:

Intelligent Devices provided the following:

• Design of system
• Integration to Aludi Parking Management System
• Display to 5 external VMS signs
• Intelligent Parking Software
• Installation and support

JFK Airport is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, located about 12 miles from Lower Manhattan. JFK has 9 terminals which are all separated from each other with different parking facilities.

To alleviate traffic and help guide passengers to the right parking facility, JFK decided to implement an Intelligent Parking Guidance System.

This project determines space availability from individuals at parking facilities. Different scenarios are activated to direct users to different lots. This data is then collected and displayed on 50 internal and external VMS signs throughout the airport. This project included supplying, installation and support of intelligent parking devices and software.

The Johannesburg Roads Agency implemented an ITS system which managed all the intersections in the city and a Bus Rapid Transit system. Part of this project was to develop a Traffic Signal Adaptor (TSA) which was used as a communication interface between the Advanced Traffic Management System and the various proprietary traffic signal controllers. The TSA adaptor converted the proprietary protocol to NTCIP protocol. This provided a standards based interface to all the intersections in Johannesburg. This project standardized the interface the Traffic Controllers and also provided an interface for the Bus Rapid Transit system to connect to the traffic controllers.

Scope of Services:

Intelligent Devices developed a Traffic Signal Adaptor that could communicate with multiple traffic intersections with a standard NTCIP interface. This project utilized the IDI 1321 embedded micro-controller to communicate to all the intersections. These TSA devices communicated to central system using either Wi-Fi or cellular technologies.

The scope of work included:

• Developing a Standard NTCIP/SNMP Management Information Base (MIB) to support the Siemens ST800 traffic controllers and PLC traffic intersections.
• Design of the Traffic Signal Adaptors.
• Developed two custom drivers to communicate to the Traffic intersections.
• The TSA supported communications to PLC “Dumb” traffic intersections controllers that monitored status and health by monitoring the input power, the 220V power to the traffic signal heads and loop detectors through a custom designed I/O card.
• The TSA supported a more sophisticated interface to the Siemens ST800 Controller utilizing the Siemens Handset Protocol. This allowed for monitoring of phase status, system health, and the upload and download of traffic plans.
• The project first installed 200 TSA adaptors and plans to install a further 1600 TSA adaptors.

OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg is the largest airport in Africa. As the air transport hub of Southern Africa, it accommodates for more than 17 million passengers each year.

Intelligent Devices was selected by ACSA to provide a complete parking guidance solution. This project monitors over 25,000 parking spaces and displays availability information on 250 internal DMS signs and 50 external DMS signs. The system monitors 11,500 individual spaces with ultrasonic sensors. This project included supplying, installation and support of intelligent parking devices and software. The project was NTCIP standards-based.

This project is one of the largest in the world to date. The ACSA Landside Manager has stated this project was “the single most successful project from a customer relations point of view.”

Scope of Services:

Intelligent Devices provided the following:

• Design of system
• 11,500 individual parking sensors
• Integration with online web service
• Display to 50 external and 250 internal DMS signs
• Intelligent Parking Software
• Installation and support