This paper presents the method of test and the test results from a seriesof trials carried out on a novel use of fibre optics to provide a network(up to 2000 detector channels form a single processing unit) vehicle detection technology by Atkins on behalf of the highways agency. The activities described in this paper were part of a wider project to look at possiblealternative vehicle detection technologies and was specifically to look into the possibility that fibre-optics could provide a lower cost detectionsolution to situations where a very large number of detection channels has to be provided in a small area (eg in tunnels or on elevated freeway sections) or where detection needs to be provided in a rural area where poweris expensive and difficult to provide. Initial theoretical work had shown that the technology met these requirements and this project sought to demonstrate that the detection performance was as predicted.
Samenvatting