A TRAILER truck with an oversized cargo is moving slowly towards the Menora Tunnel near Ipoh. As it passes a special gantry with a laser scanner some 20 kilometres from the tunnel, the North-South Expressway patrol is notified of its presence by the highway monitoring centre. The lorry is later directed to exit at the Ipoh toll just before the tunnel.
The preemptive move is made as the advanced computer system of the highway operator has calculated that the lorry may stall or break down inside the tunnel and cause a massive traffic jam.
This scenario is among the moves to be implemented by PLUS in its modernisation plans to make traffic on the North-South Highway smoother, better and safer for users.
“In the above scenario, the lorry driver is not aware that as the vehicle passes the gantry, the lorry is being scanned and determined by the computer that it is overloaded and unwieldy, potentially causing a problem if it enters the tunnel,” says Shamsul Izhan Abdul Majid, PLUS Malaysia Bhd (PLUS) chief technology and innovation officer.
TECH PERSPECTIVE
Shamsul, who is also the chief executive officer of TERAS Teknology Sdn Bhd, the technology arm of PLUS, emphasised the importance of technology in running a highway operation.
“Technology will drive the future,” he says. The ultimate aim, he said, is to get vehicles moving along smoothly on the highway and remove congestion as quickly as possible.
While adding lanes may seem a good solution, Shamsul says it’s not viable in the long run.
“It’s very expensive and will take years to complete. The best way to ease traffic congestion and provide the best driving experience to users is through technology.
“Moving forward, machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), smart sensors, cloud computing and data mining will be the key drivers for a highway operator,” says Shamsul.
INITIATIVES IMPLEMENTED
One of the major headaches of running a highway is easing traffic congestion, especially at major toll plazas and certain highway stretches.
With 1.7 million users on weekdays and 1.9 million over the weekends, ensuring a smooth flow of traffic along the 1,100km North-South highway is not an easy feat.
Shamsul said the PLUS app will help commuters plan their journey better as they will get current information on traffic conditions.
The app, which is available for free on the iOS and Android platforms, provides current Twitter feeds on traffic conditions as well as CCTV views along the highway. To date it has been downloaded about 120,000 times.
“We have installed 2,000 CCTVs all along the highway. Commuters can access the real-time (albeit with a five-second delay) feed of traffic conditions in the Journey section of the app,” said Shamsul.
PLUS will also look at trigger points along the highway and inform users of traffic congestion or other unusual traffic movements.
The data provided via the app will help users to make informed decisions such as taking a different suggested route, he added.
The app can also be used to send an SOS should commuters face an emergency along the highway.
“The GPS location of the affected party will be automatically sent so that a PLUS patrol can come to assist,” says Shamsul.
MACHINE LEARNING
This year, PLUS has invested RM20 million in its IT initiatives, especially in the areas of data analytics and science.
“Through this, we can predict, via machine learning, what will happen in the next six hours, for instance.
“This will enable us to inform people on the best time to enter the highway,” says Shamsul.
Next year, the company plans to increase its investment on video analytics.
“While we have CCTVs on the highways, they are monitored by staff at the command centre.
However, if we can put sensors that will make the CCTVs smart, combining it with machine learning, for instance, they may be able to detect automatically if there is a stalled vehicle in the middle of the lane. An automatic alert will also be sent to the command centre for further action.
“This way, those manning the command centres do not have to look at all 2,000 CCTVs all the time. This machine learning system is possible because of the cloud technology that we are already using,” he said.
MULTI-LANE FREE FLOW
While the Touch ‘n Go, Smart Tag system and radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems installed at toll plazas have helped ease traffic at toll booths, they are still inadequate to combat rising traffic, especially during peak hours and festive seasons.
“The best way is to remove the toll barrier. This can be done via the multi-lane free flow system that allows vehicles to pass through toll plazas without slowing down,” said Shamsul.
However, this initiative will involve the cooperation of the government, the Malaysian Highway Authority and other relevant parties to make it work, he added.
Plate numbers must also be standardised so that cameras can detect them as the vehicles pass through.
“Currently, we are doing three pilot tests at selected toll plazas for plate number recognition with the toll system,” says Shamsul.
FOR BETTER MAINTENANCE
Part of the tech initiatives at PLUS is to streamline workflow processes in the company, especially when it comes to highway maintenance work.
“Being a 30-year-old company, a lot of the work processes involve the use of paper, which by today’s standards, slows many things down,” said Shamsul.
To address this, the company has implemented Microsoft Kaizala, a mobile app and service designed for large group communications and work management.
Kaizala makes it easy to connect and coordinate work with the company’s entire value chain, including field employees, vendors, partners and customers.
“While the app is from Microsoft, PLUS developed the entire back-end system for the process,” said Shamsul.
THE FUTURE
Ultimately, when all the technology that matters are in place (including 5G network), autonomous vehicles will be allowed on the highway, said Shamsul.
“We should explore this in the future. Studies have shown that autonomous vehicles are the safest mode of transportation,” he says, adding that the technology will come in our lifetime.