FLIR’S AI-based incident detection used in Damsgård Tunnel

Isabelle Crow
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Both visual and thermal imaging cameras are used as a solution for 24/7 automatic incident detection inside tunnels. With the latest camera technology upgrade of the Damsgård Tunnel in Bergen, Norway is premiering AI-enhanced dual-vision cameras as a new evolution in incident detection.
Damsgård Tunnel Technology Upgrade
The Damsgård Tunnel is part of Norwegian National Road 555. In 2024, the tunnel will undergo a comprehensive technology upgrade, with the replacement of ventilation systems, lighting, drainage, and camera technology.
The traffic cameras from sensor specialist FLIR combine thermal and visual imaging technology in a ruggedized housing and rely on advanced deep learning algorithms that enable the camera to detect stopped vehicles, wrong-way drivers, queues, crossing pedestrians, and even smoke and fires in their early stages.
Approximately 80 FLIR cameras are scheduled for installation the second half of the year.
Visual and Thermal Incident Detection
Initially, visual CCTV cameras were used to detect incidents. The technology enabled first response teams to be deployed minutes—even seconds—after an incident or an irregularity (a fallen object, a pedestrian, a car slowing down) was detected.
The use of thermal imaging cameras has especially proven valuable for tunnel entrances and exits. There, shadows or direct sunlight can obstruct the view of visible-light cameras and therefore disturb traffic detection.
As thermal cameras detect heat, not light, they can detect traffic 24/7 and in all weather conditions.
One of the biggest advantages of thermal cameras in the field of tunnel safety is that they can effectively see through smoke. This makes them the ideal technology for tunnel safety operators or emergency response teams to find their way through a smoke-filled tunnel or for incident detection systems to spot issues in time.
FLIR thermal cameras can also spot fires at the stage of ignition, making them the fastest and most reliable technology for fire detection inside road tunnels.
The Role of Dual-Vision Cameras
In 2018, FLIR’s ITS-Series Dual AID cameras were installed at the entrance and exit of the Lyderhorn Tunnel near Bergen. In 2021, technology integrator Trafsys also installed 332 of FLIR’s dual-vision cameras in the Hundvåg and Eiganes tunnels, which are part of the extensive Ryfast project.
The cameras’ fire detection functionality proved effective when a car fire occurred in the Hundvåg tunnel in July 2020; the FLIR ITS dual thermal AID camera detected the fire within 7 seconds of visible flames, following an initial alert for a stopped vehicle and pedestrians.
Artificial Intelligence in Incident Detection
FLIR’s TrafiBot Dual AI—installed in the above-mentioned Damsgård Tunnel—announces a new wave of incident detection cameras. The camera also combines a visual and a thermal camera in one unit, but what makes it stand out is the use of artificial intelligence and deep learning.
AI algorithms embedded in the FLIR camera analyze captured images in real-time and in full resolution. This latest addition to FLIR’s portfolio of AI cameras is setting a new standard for automatic incident detection in tunnels, generating extremely accurate traffic data, incident detection information, and live track data.
Benefits of AI-Based Detection Systems
AI can help to filter out unwanted alarms by distinguishing between routine activity, weather phenomena, and actual incidents.
As an important aspect of their accuracy, AI-based systems are much more successful in detecting different vehicle classes. Detectors from FLIR will easily distinguish between a car and a van, or between a small and a large truck.
FLIR’s AI detectors can also predict vehicles trajectories. Based on vehicle parameters such as speed and direction, they can easily see where a car is going, even if for part of that trajectory the view on that car is occluded by a passing truck. This makes detection much faster and more accurate.
Since incidents can be detected much faster and with more accuracy, operators will be able to make better informed decisions, especially in high-stress situations, and they will be able to deploy emergency teams more quickly.
AI will benefit traffic planners too. Data collected from a camera can be analyzed over time to identify trends, patterns, or areas with a higher potential of incidents. This can be valuable for proactive traffic planning, infrastructure improvements, or for overall risk management.
Norwegian road tunnel uses FLIR’s AI-based incident detection: Summary
FLIR has provided a new camera technology upgrade of the Damsgård Tunnel in Bergen, Norway. Using premiering AI-enhanced dual-vision cameras for incident detection.