Every year, around the world, more and more vehicles
are on the roadways, amplifying the need for traffic
management solutions. Centracs is Econolite's newest
Advanced Transportation Management System (ATMS)
software, providing a centralized integrated platform
for traffic signal control, ITS field device monitoring
and control, information management, graphical data
display, and much more. Centracs uses a client/server
architecture and distributed processing to achieve
a flexible, scalable, and cost-effective system while
offering an uncomplicated, efficient user interface.
Industry protocol standards are followed to the fullest
extent, allowing the system to adapt to changes in
technology with minimal impact on individual system
components.
Efficient Multi-User
Capability
An intuitive, simple, and efficient User experience was a
top priority in the design of Centracs. Centracs supports
the concurrent use of multiple workstations over local
and wide-area network connections and offers an optional
secure web browser based interface. The number of
concurrent workstations depends only on the capacity of
the network and the system servers, which can be scaled
up if necessary. Centracs requires username and password
login to ensure that only authorized users are granted access
to the system. A powerful and flexible user privilege
system provides detailed control over what each user can
do. These configurable privilege settings can be unique,
by user, to multiple user-defined jurisdictions. The result
is a flexible arrangement that let's an administrator provide
as much or as little control as required.
Graphical User Interface and "Containers"
Modern Graphical User Interface (GUI) design, including
Microsoft's latest Windows Presentation Foundation
framework, is an integral part of Centracs. The intuitive
GUI yields a very low learning curve for new users. All
system configuration is done from the GUI - no more need
to edit configuration text files or registry entries. Instead
of forcing a particular main window layout, Centracs allows
ultimate versatility in the arrangement of multiple "containers". Containers assist the user in managing the
multitude of needed status and control screens by allowing
the user to drag-and-drop open windows into containers.
Centracs takes care of the positioning and sizing of
contained windows, leaving the user free to focus on more
important tasks. When a user exits Centracs, the entire
layout is remembered and then restored on the next login.
Distributed
Processing
Centracs implements a distributed layer architecture and extensive multi-threading to provide scalability and expandability. In addition to the standard client-server layers, Centracs divides the server side into three layers: the "Core", "Device Managers", and "Comm Servers". At the bottom, Comm Servers perform the communications to field devices. Device Managers isolate specific device knowledge into separate applications to provide efficiency and to improve code maintainability. New Device Managers can be developed and easily added to implement new device types. At the top is the "Core" server, which is the central point for collection of status data from devices and its dissemination to clients. It also implements all database functions to better manage data integrity. Multiple threads support the system scheduler, traffic control algorithms, field device time management, alert generation and more. All of these layers can reside on a single computer or they can be spread across multiple computers. This allows Centracs to efficiently manage a small agency's needs on a single, inexpensive computer, or to scale to a large agency managing thousands of devices by distributing the processing across multiple computers.
Communications
Robust, dependable communication to field devices is key to a successful ATMS system and is a critical component of Centracs. Most communications media is supported, including fiber optics, twisted pair, leased lines, and wireless. Protocol support includes; TCP/IP, UDP/IP, RS232 serial, ACT, PMPP, STMP, and SNMP. Centracs provides a large array of communications configuration settings, which allow tuning for optimal efficiency. One communications server can support up to 250 serial devices, with scalability to thousands of devices by adding multiple servers. Traffic signal device support includes; Econolite's NTCIP-based ASC/2, ASC/2S, and ASC/3 (1000, 2100, or RackMount) NEMA TS1/TS2 controllers, 2070 (L or LN) controllers running ASC/2070, ASC/3 2070 or Oasis firmware, 170-type controllers running certain versions of Wapiti W4IKS firmware, and NTCIP 1202 compliant controllers.
Asset Management
Centracs makes it easy to configure, monitor, and control field assets. New entities (signal controllers, CCTV cameras, sections, or other ITS components) can be added to the system in a matter of minutes. Jurisdiction-based privileges ensure only authorized operators can access assets within specific jurisdictions. Monitoring screens represent data graphically, making it easy for an operator to quickly keep tabs on what is happening in the system. Most control commands can be sent to a user-selected list of devices, sections, or groups in a single operation. The selection of devices can be made from an entity tree, from a GIS map, or from a "Favorites" window. System alerts can be sent to specific online users, to all online users, or to offline users via email or SMS.
Traffic Signal Management
Traffic Signal Management and Control is one of the primary applications of the many ITS functions supported by Centracs. Some of Centracs' traffic capabilities include:
- Signal configuration
- Centralized event scheduling
- Manual-override commands
- Intersection traffic detectors
- Alert notification via email and SMS
In addition, Centracs provides powerful traffic analysis tools such as timespace diagrams, split-monitor graphs, and an optional Synchro™ interface. Furthermore, with its low learning curve, ease of use, rich feature set, modern design, and built-in readiness to expand along with a growing infrastructure, Centracs is a smart investment for any agency. |
