How does it work?

The Mini Car Counter is an application which uses a device's camera feed to monitor traffic flow. Moving vehicles are identified and tracked across subsequent video frames.

The car counter is available on a range of platforms. Our solution is low cost, and will run smoothly on the simplest of smartphones. A number of devices can be placed in different locations and gather data simultaneously.

There is currently very little open data on congestion and flow for roads managed by local authorities. The app allows people to gather actual real-world data to aid with local traffic campaigns. It can also help councils understand congestion and plan and justify traffic interventions.

Our UWP app is written in C#. Video is processed in real-time using the OpenCV library via the EmguCV .NET wrapper.

Example video

Key Features

• Works on any Windows 10 enabled device including mobile.
• Detects moving vehicles, and logs when they travel over a boundary.
• Generates open data on traffic flow for upload to the web.
• Compare data from different sites on the accompanying site.

Benefits for local authorities

• Better understand congestion and plan interventions.
• Easy to set up with minimal costs.
• Ability to have a network of devices covering a wide area.
• Transmits data in real-time for analysis.