Evaluation of traffic data accuracy using Korea detector testbed

Abstract

This study describes how and where a traffic detector, mainly used for real-time traffic management and information systems, is evaluated in Korea. Traditionally, detector evaluation in Korea is based on video ground-truth data. However, the increasing demand for real-time traffic management and information has resulted in increased focus on rapid and high-throughput detector evaluation – impossible with the conventional video method. Hence, the Korean government established a national traffic detector testbed equipped with a laser-based reference standard, relational database, video acquisition system, communication infrastructure and so forth. The laser-based baseline data source is thoroughly verified using tape-switch sensors with an oscilloscope. The testbed is actively used in evaluating the vehicle level performance of many in-road and over-road traffic detectors through consensus-based data verification. A comprehensive discussion on detector performance tests using the testbed is presented. The testbed developed in this research is expected to make traffic detector evaluation much easier than before.