Acusensus’ ‘Heads-Up’ warning for drivers using mobile phones

First published in Intertraffic Innovation News - May 7, 2020

Heads-Up, an innovative solution to enforcing laws regarding drivers using mobile phones has been announced by Acusensus.

The new roadside technology combines speed measurement, number plate recognition and a camera backed with artificial intelligence, to automatically detect drivers using their phone and capture photographic evidence. It is available in both fixed and mobile (trailer-mounted) configuration and is said to operate in all weathers and lighting conditions.

Sensors detect and record the presence and speed of all vehicles while the camera system penetrates the windscreens to capture high resolution images, allowing the company’s algorithms to detect drivers illegally touching a mobile phone. Human reviewers are presented with images of drivers detected as touching their phones, while any passengers are obscured and the licence plate data remains encrypted and viewable by only the authority.

If required, the system can be set to automatically blur out everything in extracted images except the driver. The radar-based speed detection system can also be used for speed enforcement, including lane discrimination and vehicle classification, while the licence plate recognition function can be used for both average speed enforcement and unregistered/hotlist vehicle detection.

To test the Heads-Up system, Acusensus has partnered with the Government of New South Wales and there are currently two pilot locations in Sydney.