GTT Provides Better Opticom Priority Control Accuracy with New Geo-Locating Chipset

ST. PAUL, Minn., Dec. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Traffic Technologies (GTT) announced today that it has added the Global Navigation Satellites System (GNSS) to its Opticom™ solutions. This collection of satellites transmits positioning and timing data to GNSS receivers, which use this data to determine location.

Though they might not realize it, most Americans have used the Global Positioning System – i.e., GPS – before. In fact, many connected vehicle applications, including emergency vehicle preemption and transit signal priority, rely on GPS to determine the real-time location of vehicles. But while that single satellite system employs 31 satellites, GNSS utilizes 89 satellites from four different satellite navigation systems around the world, including GPS (America), Galileo (European Union) and either GLONASS (Russia) or China's BeiDou (GTT is using GLONASS). 

"It's well-documented that urban canyons and multipath effects can negatively impact the accuracy and overall performance of GPS-based locating," GTT VP of Product Development Ravi Shah said. "The advantage of adding GNSS is that it gives our customers access to multiple satellite networks, thereby reducing interference and increasing accuracy while providing reliable redundancy and availability."

Adding GNSS will enable more consistent, reliable priority control in dense urban areas with obstructions such as bridges, tunnels and tall buildings. It will reduce the kind of performance issues that can diminish priority control's effectiveness by helping ensure the correct intersection receives the request for a green light as priority vehicles approach intersections. Better location services will minimize disruptions to traffic, and help fire and emergency personnel, bus drivers and light rail train conductors navigate dense urban areas in safer and faster.

Even with access to more satellites, communication to these satellites can be lost temporarily in areas with tall buildings, tunnels or multi-level roads. To address this, GTT has also added the ability to more effectively determine vehicle position in these areas with software-based "dead reckoning." If satellite communication is lost, dead reckoning can calculate a moving vehicle's position by estimating its direction and distance traveled from its last known geo-location. GTT's software-based dead reckoning solution functions with sensors built into the Opticom devices, with no additional vehicle wiring required.

"Opticom, like other connected-vehicle applications, relies on accurate vehicle position to deliver high performance solutions," said Chad Mack, GTT's director of product management. "Incorporating GNSS and software-based dead reckoning into our Opticom portfolio is a testament to GTT's commitment to creating best-in-class solutions for our customers."

About GTT

GTT provides a clear path to smarter and safer mobility for communities worldwide. GTT's Opticom intelligent transportation solutions help to increase safety, minimize traffic congestion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while maximizing resource efficiency and performance. Thousands of emergency, transit and traffic agencies have trusted the innovative, comprehensive Opticom traffic solutions for more than 50 years. Headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, GTT is the market leader in traffic management systems, having an installed base of more than 180,000 connected devices in over 3,100 municipalities worldwide, including 41 of the 50 largest U.S. cities. To learn more, visit www.gtt.com.

SOURCE Global Traffic Technologies

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