6,270 cars, 2,646 bikes, 1,199 pedestrians Traffic counting – what’s it for?
AI helps to differentiate between road users
© Öko-Institut
There’s a Telraam traffic counter suspended in a window here in east Kreuzberg. The device, supplied by the Belgian company Rear Window, is utilised by urban planners and citizens’ action groups alike.
What’s it for?
Traffic counting offers multiple benefits. It is used in traffic planning, for example, to determine how the corresponding measures affect traffic flows and to identify unintended spillover traffic. It also helps citizens’ action groups gather data and make a case for traffic-calming measures. Traffic counting was deployed for this purpose by the Berlin zählt Mobilität initiative, for example, which campaigns for a mobility transition in local neighbourhoods. It is also used in setting up school streets: this involves closing off roads to traffic at the start and end of the school day in order to improve student safety. Counting reveals the alternative routes taken by vehicles and shows whether there are changes in mobility behaviour around schools.
Who’s involved?
Rear Window is a Belgian company with a commitment to traffic counting. A subsidiary of Transport & Mobility Leuven (TML), it conducts research on mobility and provides advice to policy-makers. KU Leuven, a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, is the company’s largest shareholder.
We have been analysing traffic flows and identifying the specific impacts of traffic planning measures, such as the installation of traffic lights or restrictions on through traffic, for a long time. Traffic counting is a very valuable tool in this context, but for quite some time, it was extremely complex and costly and absorbed a substantial share of the related project budgets.
The name Telraam is derived from the Dutch words for “I count” (ik tel) and “window” (raam). The word “Telraam” also means “abacus” – an allusion to the “counting window” in people’s homes. “We wanted to create a simple and affordable traffic counting solution that would be suitable for scaling and also involved the public on the basis of citizen science.” Local residents can now monitor traffic flows along their street with a small-scale device inside a window at home. The information is then transferred directly to Telraam’s website, where it is freely accessible to everyone. “We are an Open Source project and believe it is vital that all the data are publicly accessible. Citizens need to know what’s going on in their cities.”
How does it work?
Telraam opens a window on local mobility, differentiating in the process between pedestrians, bikes, cars and heavy vehicles. “The new model – the S2 – can now also distinguish between cycles and motorbikes and between various types of heavy vehicle, such as buses, trucks and tractors,” Kris Vanherle explains. This was made possible by the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, which allows more precise differentiation. The devices gather information on the traffic and transfer the data to Telraam. No images or videos are saved. “We felt this was very important in order to protect road users’ privacy.” The new version is also equipped with an SIM card for efficient data transfer and has a camera with a wide-angle lens to facilitate positioning.
Where will it lead?
Kris Vanherle and his colleagues are already working on a new version of Telraam, which will take into account the rapid evolution of AI while also advancing the concept of citizen science. “We would like to see a form of citizen engagement in which we involve users more actively in the interpretation of gathered data. After all, they are the only people who are actually present on the ground and can provide information on why traffic is increasing or decreasing, for example.” But as he explains, this would require an interface to allow this information to be passed on, as well as incentives to encourage users to take action here. Rear Window is also planning to install a better-quality camera in the next version. “Currently, Telraam doesn’t work when it’s dark, so we are working to improve its performance when light levels are low.”
By the way: 30 Telraam devices of the new S2 model will be installed in Berlin in 2025 as part of the Net4Cities initiative and in cooperation with the Allgemeiner Deutscher Fahrradclub (ADFC). If you would like to apply, you can find more information on the ADFC Treptow-Köpenick website.
Kris Vanherle is an engineer and is employed by Transport & Mobility Leuven (TML). The institute conducts research on mobility issues and the effectiveness of transport policy measures, among other things. Rear Window, of which Kris Vanherle is co-founder and CEO, is a TML subsidiary. It develops and distributes the Telraam traffic counter.
Further information
Topic: Green transition of the mobility sector
