JOINT MEDIA RELEASE
Issued on 25 January 2006
A total of 94 final year engineering students from the five local polytechnics participated in this year’s Collaboration between the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Polytechnics.
31 projects are being showcased this year and they include MRT fare gates without barriers, integrated countdown timers with pedestrian crossing signals, a traffic simulation model to determine optimum traffic light timing, a visual monitoring system to detect traffic violations, and light emitting diodes to light up bus stops and pedestrian overhead bridges, and many more,
Launched in 1999, the LTA-Polytechnics Collaboration was mooted by Mr Peter Chen, then Senior Minister of State for Education and a former LTA Board Member. Through the collaboration, Polytechnic students are given a unique opportunity to work on the many interesting projects under LTA’s purview, and learn to provide practical solutions real-life problems. A total of 915 students have benefited from the collaboration since its launch eight years ago.
As with previous years, this year’s submissions were judged by an independent panel on technical competency or engineering innovation, project implementation, as well as overall presentation, and a winning project was chosen from each polytechnic.
“LTA is proud to have forged this collaboration with the Polytechnics over the years to provide students an opportunity to exercise their imagination and put into practice what they have learnt to propose solutions to improve land transport in Singapore. I hope this experience will spur them on in a challenging engineering career as they continue to put their knowledge and creativity to good use when they enter the job market,” said BG (NS) Yam Ah Mee, Chief Executive of LTA.
“These Polytechnic students have combined their engineering knowledge with ingenuity and creativity to provide innovative solutions to solve transport engineering challenges. Their participation in this collaboration has definitely enhanced their learning experience, allowing them to apply knowledge gained to LTA-related projects,” said Mr Chua Gim Peng, Director-In-Charge of the Working Committee.
For enquiries, please contact :
Dawn Ho
Public Affairs Officer
Nanyang Polytechnic
Tel : 6550 0229 / 98502811
Email : dawn_ho@nyp.gov.sg
Lim Wee Leng
Corporate Communications Officer
Land Transport Authority
Tel : 6396 1571
Email : media@lta.gov.sg
COLLABORATION BETWEEN
LAND TRANSPORT AUTHORITY AND THE POLYTECHNICS
25 JANUARY 2006
ABSTRACTS OF THE WINNING PROJECTS
NANYANG POLYTECHNIC
The objective of this project is to develop a barrier-free Auto Fare Collection (AFC) gate to replace the existing AFC gate at the exit points of MRT stations.
The current AFC gate in MRT stations uses barriers that open and shut at high speed to prevent unauthorised commuters from entering or exiting the paid area. There are instances of commuters being hit by the barriers. The barrier gates also slow down human traffic flow and are not handicap-friendly.
The barrier-free AFC gate developed by Nanyang Polytechnic uses optical sensors with intelligent software to monitor commuter movement along the aisle as they pass through the gate. An alarm goes off once it detects an unauthorised commuter.
This high throughput barrier-free gate system is best suited for exit gates to improve traffic flow of commuters exiting the stations. This will improve the level of service at MRT stations.
The barrier-free AFC gate uses a software algorithm patented by Nanyang Polytechnic to track moving objects. It is capable to differentiate a human body from small objects such as umbrella, bag or pram. The system is also able to detect unauthorised exits through tailgating an authorised user.
In addition, the barrier-free AFC gate has the following advantages:
NGEE ANN POLYTECHNIC
The objective of this project is to develop an integrated LED (Light Emitting Diodes) countdown timer for pedestrians that shows the remaining time left before the traffic light changes to the ‘red man’.
The current countdown timer is a separate unit from the traffic light. The proposed system integrates both the counter and the traffic light such that the remaining time left before the ‘green man’ turns red will be shown on the LED panel. By combining both units into one, there will be cost savings. In addition, ultra-bright LEDs will be used in place of the 7segment counter to increase the lifespan of the system and reduce maintenance cost.
Traffic Simulation Model
The objective of this project is to develop a computer model for simulation of traffic at the junction of Queensway/ Jalan Bukit Merah/ Alexandra Road. Queensway experiences heavy traffic during weekday peak hours. Motorists travelling along this road frequently take two traffic light cycles to clear the junction, resulting in long waiting times and tailbacks. With the opening of the Queensway extension to AYE in August 2005, traffic density and distribution at the junction has changed. This requires adjustment of traffic light timings and phasing to optimize the traffic flow.
A state-of-the-art simulation tool called Flexsim is used by Republic Polytechnic students to build the traffic model. The 3-D model allows viewing from all angles. Using simulation, changes in parameters that affect traffic flow, such as traffic light timings and traffic phasing, can be explored and optimized before implementation, thus avoiding trial-and-error adjustments. The impact of change on road infrastructures such as additional lanes could be studied as well. The model can be customised to adapt to changes to the input parameters.
SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC
The objective of this project is to build a new generation traffic violation control system with automatic detection, monitoring and control of traffic violations within the region of detection. This system can be applied in areas such as along zigzag lanes and expressway road shoulders.
Visual information such as vehicle number, vehicle type, vehicle colour and traffic conditions are captured by a Pan, Tilt and Zoom (PTZ) camera and recorded in MPEG video format at LTA’s Intelligent Transport Systems Centre (ITSC). The log file and MPEG video can be used as evidence against traffic violators.
TEMASEK POLYTECHNIC
The objective of this project is to develop a general lighting system using Light Emitting Diodes (LED).
Currently, LTA uses fluorescent tubes for bus stops and sheltered pedestrian overhead bridges. These require frequent replacements and consume lots of energy.
Using conventional LED does not provide sufficient illumination and tends to produce spot effects.
The LED lighting system developed by Temasek Polytechnic solves this problem. It meets the specification of 30 lux measured from the floor and has a very long lifespan of eight years. It can be powered directly from an AC main, therefore no modification is required to install this LED light on current LTA fittings. It also consumes less energy than fluorescent tubes.
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