There has been some media coverage of this but I feel it needs a collated thread.
There press Government approval ...
HereQuote:
2009-02-02 10:40:00
SPECS3 Breakthrough
SPECS3 has been recommended for Home Office Type Approval.
SPECS3 is the new generation of the highly successful SPECS average speed enforcement system. Based on the experience gained from over 200 permanent and temporary installations, SPECS3 brings the latest technological developments to the time over distance concept, offering even greater benefits to those trying to ensure traffic safety, whilst reducing congestion, emissions and achieving extremely high compliance rates.
SPECS3, the first distributed average speed enforcement system, has now successfully completed the technical testing phase for Home Office Type Approval (HOTA). It has been recommended for full HOTA by the Roads Policing Enforcement Technology (RPET) committee and is expected to be fully enforceable once the formalities of the legal agreements are in place and the Home Office have signed the approval certificate.
This means that local and highway authorities can now progress the development of real, roadside enforcement solutions as the design principles and accuracy of the SPECS3 solution have been verified by the RPET committee. This is a significant breakthrough, following several years of development and testing. By applying the benefits of SPECS to a distributed network of cameras, casualties, collisions, congestion and emissions can be controlled in a way never possible before.
Each SPECS3 camera acts as a network node, allowing cameras to communicate back to a remote central Instation. This approach allows considerably greater flexibility and a lower cost than the previous generation.
SPECS3 key features include:
• Every camera can be an entry or an exit camera
• High quality offence images, night or day
• All offence data is collected remotely (ADSL, 3G, ISDN, WAN, LAN)
• Journeys can be calculated between any valid cameras
• Forward or rear facing links can be configured
• Any lane entry to any lane exit can be monitored
• Enforcement links can be from 250m to 20km+
• SPECS3 can be operated alongside existing SPECS equipment
SPECS3 has been developed by Speed Check Services, the global leaders in the development of average speed enforcement technology. No other supplier has the wealth of specialist experience and knowledge to manage the design, installation and ongoing operation of average speed enforcement solutions.
and also from
MeltwaternewsQuote:
2009-12-07 08:44:00
SPECS3 achieves full Home Office Type Approval
SPECS3, the first distributed average speed camera system can now go live. The long wait is over and SPECS3 has received its full Home Office Type Approval. This means that the latest in average speed enforcement technology can be applied on the UK road network.
SPECS3 allows a network of cameras to measure the average speed of vehicles between camera locations, covering simple sections of road or area based networks. This delivers a far more flexible solution than earlier generations of SPECS, allowing distributed cameras to communicate with each other. Due to simplified installation and advances in technology, SPECS3 solutions are now considerably more cost effective, presenting road safety professionals and highway designers a powerful new tool that can be rapidly configured and installed.
Remote video cameras continually monitor traffic as it passes, routinely sending number plate data back to a remote central server. If a vehicle is detected as travelling above the Police threshold between two valid camera locations, images are retrieved and an offence file is created. This offence file will then be viewed by an operator, before any further action is taken.
Traffic flow through a SPECS speed control section improves considerably, resulting in a safer, smoother and more reliable journey. Vehicles can merge and diverge more easily, allowing drivers to enter or leave the carriageway without speeding up or slowing down to find a gap. The overall result is a conveyor belt type flow, with uniform speeds, little braking, larger headways, fewer collisions and reduced emissions. This delivers safer, more reliable journeys for all road users, whilst maximising throughput on roads with a high traffic volume.
It is anticipated that SPECS3 will be operated in 20mph zones, rural routes, strategic trunk roads and Managed Motorway applications. In doing so, the cameras should ensure that the roads are safe, journeys are reliable, emissions are reduced and only a very few drivers will need to be penalized, which is ultimately the mark of an effective speed management tool.
SPECS3 has been developed by Speed Check Services, the global leaders in the development of average speed enforcement technology. With over 250 delivered schemes, no other supplier has the wealth of specialist experience and knowledge to manage the design, installation and ongoing operation of average speed enforcement solutions.
Please note, Speed Check Services Limited have a new address:
430 Frimley Business Park, Frimley, Surrey GU16 7SG Tel:+44 (0) 1276 698980 Fax: +44 (0) 1276 698988 Email:
info@speedcheck.co.ukHere are some links to help you know more :
Here - SPECS3 - http://www.speedcheck.co.uk/specs.htmhttp://www.speedcheck.co.uk/images/SCS_SPECS3_Brochure.pdfSPECS3 launchedlinks that seem to imply the technology behind the system (do correct me if I am wrong please)
Here - http://www.northbt.com/driver/simmtronicHere - http://itvibe.com/news/4538/ New Specs3 speed cameras you cannot fool
Here - http://www.northbt.com/products/obsysHere - OSM v20 Simmtronic v10 Engineering Guide http://www.northbt.com/library/search?q=SimmtronicNorth Interfaces - http://www.northbt.com/driver/list[url=http://www.northbt.com/products/compass] Compass Integration Network for Co-ordinating Integrated Building Automation Systems
http://www.northbt.com/products/compass[/url]
Lighting Systems - http://www.northbt.com/driver/filter?t=Lighting&ss=1(SPECS original overview -
http://www.speedcheck.co.uk/pdf/M6%20TASCAR%20case%20study.pdfTheNewspaper PR Monitoring SPECS Quote:
UK Speed Cameras to Monitor Every Stretch of Road
UK government proposes speed camera network covering every A-road in the name of fighting global warming.
SPECS deployedThe UK Commission for Integrated Transport last year proposed a nationwide blanket of speed cameras as a means of fighting global warming. After a series of trials, the Home Office is now set to make this a reality by approving early next year the SPECS3 "distance over time speed measuring device" that will make it impossible to drive on any primary road in Britain without being tracked and subjected to an instant fine for exceeding the posted speed limit.
"With respect to technology, we are in a period of explosive evolution in traffic control technology," a commission report entitled Transport and Climate Change explained. "The Highways Agency already uses several technologies which are either intended to manage speed, or lend themselves to that purpose by monitoring speed and sending drivers messages about their behavior.... Reducing climate impacts of the motorway network should be a major consideration in the development of motorway control and communications technology."
The commission estimated that new SPECS3 cameras could monitor every driver on 31,136 miles of principal rural and urban roads at a cost of £443,687,656 (US $769,693,415). While the initial investment appears substantial, the commission noted that "enforcing the 70 MPH limit using SPECS would pay for itself within around two years." (View sample deployment map.)
The original SPECS systems, first approved in 1999, photographed vehicles when they entered a road, communicating the time of entry via a fiber optic link to a second camera positioned, say, two miles distant. After the second camera had identified the passing vehicle, the amount of time it took the car to pass between the two points was converted into an average speed. The system's limitations included an inability to ticket cars that changed lanes in between camera locations and a purchase price of £800,000 (US $1.4 million) to deploy over a distance of just a mile and a quarter.
SPECS3 solves those limitations. It uses an ISDN connection to transmit data between any two cameras in the entire network, as well as the police headquarters, without the need for the expensive dedicated connection. This configuration slashes deployment cost over the same distance to just £67,000 (US $116,000). The system can also track drivers not only as they change lanes, but as they switch between different roads and highways. Pilot projects are already underway in Camden, Surrey and Northern Ireland where road trials began in April. Once established nationwide, records on all vehicle movements will be stored for five years in a central government Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) server, allowing police to keep tabs on criminals and political opponents. Work on the data center in north London began in 2005 and officials expect real-time, nationwide tracking capability to be available by January.
The original SPECS cameras were found to be quite successful. Between 2000 and 2005, a single camera in Nottinghamshire generated 76,000 tickets worth £4.2 million (US $7.2 million). London's entire SPECS network generated as many citations in just three weeks. London camera officials did admit, however, that 5600 tickets were sent to motorists who were completely innocent.
SPECS 3 also to be installed in Cambridgeshire
Here