Researchers have proposed a novel method for counting and tracking vehicles on public roads, a development that could improve current traffic systems and help travelers get to their destinations faster.

Using the cameras already installed on campus buses at the Ohio State University, researchers proved that they could automatically and accurately measure counts of vehicles on urban roadways, detect objects in the road and distinguish parked vehicles from those that are moving.

In previous studies, Ohio State researchers found that using these mobile cameras provides much better spatial and temporal (时间的) coverage than relying on often temporarily placed sensors that don't provide a view of many streets and roads in a city.

"If we collect and process more high-resolution (高清的) spatial information about what's happening on the roads, then planners could better understand changes in demand, effectively improving efficiency in the broader transportation system," said Keith Redmill, lead author of the study.

"If we can measure traffic in a way that is as good or better than what is conventionally done with fixed sensors, then we will have created something incredibly useful extremely cheaply," he said. "Our goal is to start building a system that could do this without much manual intervention because if you want to collect this information over lots of potential vehicles and lots of time, it's worth fully automating that process."

While still a long way from total implementation (实施), the study suggests the system's results bear promise for the future of intelligent traffic surveillance. Transportation planners, engineers and operators make vital decisions about the future of our roadways, so when designing transportation systems to work over the next 30 to 50 years, it's necessary that we give them data that allows them to improve the efficiency of the system and the level of service provided to travelers.