Automation of commercial roads and crossings

The profitability of toll sections of roads and crossings is directly related to the car traffic that they are able to pass through. At the same time, manual control of passing vehicles is often too time-consuming, which is why more and more companies prefer to automate this process.

Modern software and hardware solutions for automating roads and crossings will perform a number of important tasks:

• Passing vehicles are fixed, the direction of its movement is determined and the information is stored in a common database.

• Recognize license plates.
• Determine the dimensions and weight of the vehicle.
• Automate the payment process.
• Automatically generate electronic documentation for the established events.
• Identify threats and respond to them in a timely manner.

In addition, such solutions eliminate any risks caused by the human factor and are able to work around the clock, which reduces the cost of business to pay operators.

A checkpoint equipped with a barrier, video surveillance cameras, an interface for paying the fare and, if necessary, a weight and size control system is installed on each lane of the highway or at the crossing.

When the car arrives at the checkpoint, the system automatically reads the data about the vehicle from the cameras, saves the necessary information to the database and offers to pay for the fare.

After the payment is made, the barrier rises and opens the way for the further passage of the car. To improve security, this entire process can be remotely controlled by a dispatcher in a user-friendly interface.

It is also worth adding that all processes performed by the automation system are processed on a single server, due to which they function as a holistic mechanism.

The software part of systems for automating roads and crossings is able to interact with various external devices, such as external surveillance cameras, barriers, and others. However, from a technical point of view, it can be implemented as a regular desktop, mobile or web application. Accordingly, depending on the chosen platform, the technological stack will also depend:

• Web applications. They work in a browser interface and can be run on any device. To implement their frontend, static technologies are used: HTML, CSS and JavaScript, or reactive ones – Vue.js and React.js. The server part of such projects can be built in the Python programming language and Django/Flask frameworks, in PHP and Yii2/Laravel frameworks, respectively, or using Node.js.
• Mobile applications. They are installed on the user’s smartphone and are most convenient to use due to their mobility.

When developing for IOS, the Swift programming language is used, and for Android OS, Java and Kotlin are used. In addition, there are cross-platform technologies, such as the Flutter framework and the Dart language, which allow you to create universal solutions that work on both operating systems.

• Desktop applications. Installed on a personal computer or laptop and are characterized by the highest performance. For their development, the PHP programming language and the Yii2 / Laravel frameworks, or the Python language and its Django / Flask frameworks are used.

The technology stack affects the speed of software development, its security, performance and scalability. Therefore, it is often determined by the development team, taking into account the characteristics of each individual project.

A road automation system is complex software in which developers need to take into account many factors: how drivers will interact with it, how vehicle data will be read and stored, what tools are needed for effective administration, and so on.

In order for the system to work correctly and in accordance with the way it was intended by the client, the process of its production is carried out step by step. Consider what kind of work is performed at each of the main stages.

Stage 1. Gathering information

Conducting a preliminary study before starting technical development is a standard practice in the implementation of most digital products.

At this step, specialists identify the needs of the customer, the goals and objectives of the future system, the features of the company’s existing IT infrastructure, and much more.

Stage 2. Design and preparation of technical specifications

Further, based on the information collected earlier, a mock-up of the entire project is created, which will become the basis for all subsequent stages of development. It includes:

• stack of technologies that will be involved;
• prototypes of unique project pages;
• navigation system between different interfaces;
• description of the functionality in the context of each page;
• implementation plan, etc.

Stage 3. UI design development

A commercial road automation system must be not only technically efficient, but also user-friendly. This will help speed up staff training and avoid most of the errors associated with the operation of the software.

In order to create the most comfortable visual environment, in most cases, UI design is developed individually, taking into account the specifics of a particular project. With this approach, each element – buttons, graphs, tables, icons, etc. – is drawn manually by a specialist and carries a certain functional load without overloading the interface.

Stage 4. Development of the software part

Automation system programming is the most complex and time-consuming implementation stage, which consists of two main parts:

• Frontend. Creation of the user interface in accordance with previously approved design layouts. The frontend acts as a link between the user and the server: it receives requests from the client, sends them to the backend for processing, and then outputs the result back to the client. However, if the implementation is done using Vue.js and React.js, some of the requests will be processed before being sent to the server, which significantly improves the performance of the software. At the same time, it should be noted that development on reactive technologies takes more time and, accordingly, will require large investments from the client.
• Backend. This is a server part of the software that is responsible for all the “internal” processes of automation systems: data processing, receiving fares, recognizing license plates and vehicle dimensions, managing databases, and so on. At the backend development stage, specialists program the logic of the functionality, ensure the security and performance of the software, and perform all the necessary integrations with external services.

Stage 5. Testing

When the technical development of a commercial road automation system is completed, it enters the quality control phase. Here, QA engineers perform manual and automated software testing in order to detect all errors and flaws.

If problems are identified, specialists make a bug report and submit the project for revision. After that, the software is re-tested, which allows you to make sure that the error was actually fixed, and the adjustments made by the developer did not lead to unforeseen consequences.

Stage 6. Support and development

In the first months after the project is put into operation, it often becomes clear what functionality is missing in the system and what can be improved to make its use even more efficient. To implement such tasks, a new technical task is drawn up, if necessary, design layouts are finalized, and then technical development is carried out in the form of additional patches with updates. The finished solution is tested on a copy of the software and, if successful, is installed into a working system.

It is also possible that at the beginning of operation, the company’s employees will encounter problems that were not identified during the testing phase of the system. If this happens, the developers reconnect to the project, determine the cause of the error and eliminate it within the framework of technical support.

By automating checkpoints, you can significantly increase vehicle traffic on commercial roads and crossings. At the same time, this is not only about improving the throughput of checkpoints – drivers will no longer have to spend a lot of time in traffic jams, which will increase their motivation to lay their routes through the appropriate sections. The development of such systems requires serious investments, but given the benefits they provide, the investment pays off fairly quickly.

AVADA MEDIA has extensive experience in developing software solutions for logistics business automation. Thanks to the use of innovative technologies, we can implement functionality of any complexity, focused on solving the problems of your company. To work on such projects, we use already formed teams of specialists with well-established communication, thanks to which we can start creating a project in the near future.