The Aldis GridSmart Blog

Aldis is the recipient of the 2009 Past Presidents’ Award for the “Best New or Updated ITS Industry Product”, presented at the 2009 ITS Arizona 16th Annual Conference.

Aldis Corp. develops vision-based technologies for intelligent traffic system management and advanced infrastructure solutions. These solutions are aimed at state and municipality partners to solve familiar traffic problems through innovative software-based vision processing and tracking technologies.

The GridSmart product line provides customers with many advantages in system functionality and installation. A major advantage of the GridSmart system is the three to four hour installation time compared to twice that for similar systems. This installation time is partly contributed to the installing of a single camera versus four or more that would be needed with other systems. Interruption to the intersection is minimal because of fewer lane closures for a shorter period of time. Also, GridSmart interfaces with multiple cabinets and controllers including 170, 2070, TS1 and TS2 and uses a single cable for both power and video. These features together allow GridSmart to be installed in a timely manner.

Aldis Corp.’s GridSmart product line is not only the world’s first single-camera solution for intersection management, but it offers a significant cost advantage versus all other vehicle stop bar technologies. The total five year cost to deploy and maintain the Aldis GridSmart system is only $15,000 per intersection compared to $21,700 for other vision-based detection systems and $17,725 for traditional loop systems. The cost advantage is further demonstrated when considering not only the cash expense to manually replace inductive loop systems, but also the indirect expense of temporarily closing travel lanes for loop maintenance.

The significant upfront cost advantage as a vehicle stop bar is coupled with multiple value added features unique to the GridSmart product line such as automated vehicle counting and classification, turn counts, speed calculations and the ability to monitor the system and the intersection in real-time via the Internet. This integration of practical intersection control and real-time metrics further increases the value of the GridSmart product line as the source of cost effective intersection data to be used to improve both existing intersection traffic flow and new intersection design.

Aldis Corp., a leader in next generation traffic management systems, has developed and implemented an industry-first “Boss Mode” combined with USB updates. These features provide additional convenience for the already user-friendly GridSmart system.

The “Boss Mode,” referred to as GridSmart Explorer, acts as an internet browser. It was developed by Aldis Corp. in hopes of providing clients with a simple solution for obtaining data. Each client can access this data from his/her computer. GridSmart Explorer allows a client to enter the GridSmart system’s IP address and view diagnostic, intersection and zone data for a specific system.

The USB update is another unique feature of the GridSmart system. It allows Aldis software and firmware to be updated via USB. The client simply uploads the update onto a USB stick from a computer, takes it to the site and plugs it into the GridSmart system. No computer, keyboard or other equipment is necessary at the site. The GridSmart system’s display shows detailed instructions on what to do. It is as easy as that.

For more information on GridSmart, please visit http://www.aldiscorp.com/products/gridsmart.

GridSmart is the world’s first single camera solution for intersection management. The GridSmart system costs 1/2 of existing systems and not only manages the intersection, but provides a plethora of functionality based on novel tracking algorithms not available in other systems. Watch here as GridSmart manages an intersection that would require four or more cameras in a competing system while determining object speed and vehicle counts.

Aldis is the recipient of the 2008 Navigator Award, presented at TEC Connect’s 12th annual venture forum hosted by Technology 2020 at the Knoxville Convention Center.