Maximizing Road Safety and Efficiency: Choosing the Right Sensor Technology
By Johan Gachon and Benjamin Schiereck
Modern cities face mounting pressure to ensure road safety, reduce congestion, and improve mobility for all users. At the heart of this transformation are intelligent detection technologies that gather real-time traffic data, detect incidents, and inform smarter decisions.
An advanced portfolio of traffic solutions—including visual, thermal, and dual-sensor technologies—empowers cities to monitor traffic conditions with precision and reliability, even in the most demanding environments.
Visual Cameras: High-Resolution Insight for Urban and Interurban Control
Visible spectrum cameras are a preferred choice for many traffic operators. They not only provide overall awareness but, with full HD color imagery and the ability to zoom in, can be used for CCTV surveillance. These cameras are especially valuable when forensic evidence is needed, such as verifying vehicle details or identifying specific incidents.
Visible light cameras can also be an advantage for monitoring tunnels, as many of these cameras are enhanced with the video analytics needed to detect smoke.
Great examples of this technology are FLIR’s TrafiCam AI and TrafiBot AI. TrafiCam AI is an intelligent, high definition visible-light traffic solution that uses edge-based AI to detect vehicles, track trajectories, and manage intersections with precision.
The 4K resolution TrafiBot AI builds on this for interurban traffic spaces with deep learning for incident detection, including stopped vehicles, smoke, and wrong-way drivers.
Advantages:
High-resolution object tracking and classification
• Adaptive signal control integration
• Live and historical video for visual verification
• Proven efficiency in both day and night conditions
Limitation:
• Reduced effectiveness in darkness, glare, and extreme weather without complementary support
FLIR TrafiSense AI AI-Powered Thermal Traffic Sensor
Thermal Cameras: Reliable Detection in All Conditions
Thermal cameras detect infrared radiation—heat—emitted by all objects. This allows them to “see” in complete darkness, through fog, and into shadows, making them ideal for 24/7 traffic monitoring as well as early fire detection.
Thermal traffic cameras such as FLIR TrafiSense AI (North America) and FLIR ThermiCam AI (ROW) excel in conditions that impair visual cameras such as complete darkness, sun glare, and fog; they are also ideal for detecting vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and bicyclists in safety-critical situations.
For interurban applications, thermal cameras are ideal for monitoring tunnels for early signs of vehicle fires. While traditional fire detection technologies require the presence of flame, heated gases, or smoke, thermal cameras only need temperatures to pass a set threshold to alarm on potential fires. This allows the camera to detect fires within seconds of ignition.
Advantages:
• Supports precise intersection analytics and improves safety for vulnerable road users
• Reliable detection during smoke, fog, and night
• High-resolution object tracking and classification
• Immune to lighting conditions and headlight glare
Dual-Sensor Systems: Fusion of Thermal + Visual for Maximum Safety
While each technology has its unique strengths, combining visual and thermal cameras into one traffic solution can offer the perfect solution: superior detection capabilities from a thermal sensor paired with the critical details from an HD visible light camera.
A multi-sensor approach such as this is often used in security applications such as high-end surveillance and border monitoring, where a combination of visible and thermal cameras identify and address a wide variety of security threats.
Applying this logic to a traffic system makes sense. Each technology can focus on its own strength—e.g. the thermal camera can catch early signs of fire while the visible-light camera detects smoke plumes—while also providing a redundant detection system that improves safety.
FLIR offers two leading dual-sensor systems: TrafiBot Dual AI and the newly introduced TrafiSense Dual AI.
Advantages:
• Redundant sensing for increased reliability and improved functionality
• 24/7 performance under all conditions
• Embedded analytics for advanced traffic management applications and superior data collection
• Early fire detection (TrafiBot Dual AI)
FLIR Trafibot Dual AI combines visual and thermal sensing with embedded deep learning for Automatic Incident Detection (AID), object tracking, queue monitoring, and early fire detection—even in smoke-filled or poorly lit areas.
FLIR TrafiSense Dual AI builds on this dual-detection architecture with enhanced AI analytics to monitor vehicle speed, occupancy, trajectory, and vulnerable road users. It integrates seamlessly with cloud-based software such as Acyclica™, FLIR’S Smart City Platform, providing intersection delay and movement analytics, as well as predictive traffic flow insights.
Choosing the Right Traffic Camera
When developing or upgrading a city's traffic camera system, it's important to consider a range of factors: image quality, type (visual, thermal, or both), software compatibility, and more. Equally critical are installation requirements, ease of use, reliability, and technical support—especially for organizations seeking low cost of ownership, future-ready infrastructure, and enhanced safety for vulnerable road users.
Designed for the Environment: FLIR ITS Engineering Excellence
What sets FLIR apart is not just the performance of its sensors, but how each product is purpose-built for its deployment environment. Every detail, from housing materials to mounting mechanics, reflects decades of engineering focused on real-world challenges.
Tailored Form Factors for Seamless Integration
• Black enclosures for discreet urban pole mounting
• White housings for tunnels and highways to reduce visual clutter
Each design ensures minimal disruption to infrastructure and maximum visual compatibility with the deployment site.
Premium Materials for Harsh Conditions
• 316L stainless steel for corrosion resistance in harsh environments
• IP66/IP67-rated housings for protection against dust, rain, and water pressure cleaning in tunnels
Flexible Mounting for Any Scenario
• Three-axis alignment with adjustable brackets that simplify installation on poles, curved tunnel walls, ceilings, or overhead gantries
• Built-in tilt sensors for accurate calibration and faster installation
Versatile Connectivity: Plug-and-Play Anywhere
• Ethernet and PoE support for modern deployments
• Broadband over Power Line (BPL) for legacy infrastructure—perfect for intersections without dedicated data cabling
• Fiber SFP modules for long-distance, high-bandwidth communication
FLIR Intelligent Transportation Systems: Keeping Roadways Flowing Safely
See how detection and monitoring solutions from FLIR help traffic and public transportation agencies manage traffic flows efficiently and ensure safety.
Amplifying Value with Digital Platforms: Cascade and Acyclica
Hardware is just one part of the equation. FLIR’s software platforms—Cascade and Acyclica—enable agencies to translate real-time sensor data into actionable decisions.
FLIR Cascade – Centralized Event & Data Management • Supports integration of up to 300+ sensors per cluster • Provides event filtering, scripting, and multi-protocol support (OPC UA, Modbus, REST API) • Compatible with UVMS and SCADA systems • Offers intuitive incident logging and alarm prioritization
Acyclica by FLIR – Cloud-Based Smart City Intelligence • Collects and analyzes real-time traffic flow, occupancy, travel times, and origin-destination metrics • Uses sensor-based Wi-Fi tracking for anonymous road user analysis • Enables congestion mapping and automated reporting • Fully API-enabled for dashboards, VMS messaging, and public integration
Conclusion
Visible, thermal, and combined system cameras can all serve the traffic community extremely well, providing the safety needed for vehicles on roads, in tunnels, and on bridges, and for vulnerable road users at crosswalks and busy intersections. But every road and intersection presents unique challenges. FLIR Intelligent Traffic Systems offer tailored solutions enhanced by AI and designed for mission-critical reliability.
Whether ensuring accurate vehicle detection at a busy intersection or identifying early fire risks in a tunnel, FLIR’s technology ecosystem delivers comprehensive insights. Combined with Cascade and Acyclica, this portfolio empowers cities to make data-driven decisions and build safer, smarter transportation networks.
Meet TrafiBot Dual AI
Detect traffic incidents and potential hazards quicker with TrafiBot Dual AI. This thermal + visible traffic camera uses three FLIR proprietary AI models simultaneously, developed and trained from millions of FLIR-captured images collected across the world. One model identifies and classifies fallen objects while the other two classify vehicles on thermal and on the visual stream, including unusual objects such as e-scooters and vulnerable road users like pedestrians and bicyclists.
