Abstract: A method for measuring the position of a surface of a vehicle on a roadway comprising the following steps: transmitting and receiving radar beams at transmitting and receiving positions in various primary transmitting and primary receiving directions and converting these beams into received signals; selecting the received signal having the greatest signal strength; and determining the aforementioned position from the transmitting and receiving positions and the primary transmitting and primary receiving directions of the received signal having the greatest signal strength.

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for measuring the position of a vehicle or a surface thereof on a roadway. The apparatus comprises at least one radar transmitter, which is arranged in a transmitting position above the plane of the roadway and transmits radar beams downwardly, a plurality of radar receivers, which are distributed above the plane of the roadway in different receiving positions at distances from one another, receive reflections of the radar beams from beneath, and convert the reflections into a received signal, and an evaluation device, which is connected to the radar transmitter and the radar receivers and is configured to measure the said position from the transmitting position, the receiving positions and the received signals.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for determining characteristic feature(s) of a vehicle travelling on a roadway, comprising: a detector, which is directed towards the roadway and is configured to measure the movement vector of the vehicle at a current location and time, a tracking unit, connected to the detector, for calculating a target location of the vehicle at a target time on the basis of current location and time and movement vector, a first radar sensor, connected to the detector, for transmitting a radar beam directed towards the current location, receiving a reflected radar beam, and determining a frequency spectrum thereof, a second radar sensor, connected to the tracking unit, for transmitting a radar beam directed towards the target location at the target time, receiving a reflected radar beam and determining a frequency spectrum thereof, and an evaluation unit for generating characteristic feature(s) of the vehicle from the determined frequency spectra.

Abstract: Method for detecting wheels of a vehicle that is traveling on a roadway in a travel direction and the wheels of which are at least partially exposed laterally. The method including: emitting an electromagnetic measurement beam lobe with a known temporal progression of frequency from the side of the roadway onto an area of the roadway and at a slant with respect to the travel direction, receiving the measurement beam lobe reflected by a passing vehicle and recording the temporal progression, relative to the known progression, of all of its frequencies, and during the passage of a vehicle, detecting a frequency spread appearing in the recorded progression and exceeding a predetermined spread magnitude, as a wheel.

Abstract: The present subject matter relates to an onboard unit for a traffic telematics system, comprising: a first communication module, designed for near-range radio communication with a first external communication device, a second communication module, designed for far-range radio communication with a second external communication device, and a non-volatile memory, which can be accessed both by the first and the second communication module, wherein each communication module has a power-supplied communication mode and a powerless or power-saving rest mode, and wherein the power supply of the memory during an access thereto is effected by the accessing communication module. The present subject matter further relates to an onboard system for a vehicle comprising such an onboard unit, and to a communication device for said system.

Abstract: Methods are disclosed for charging an onboard unit with an electronic ticket and redeeming the ticket at a radio beacon. The onboard unit has a DSRC interface for radio communication with the radio beacon and a second interface for radio communication with a mobile phone. The second interface is separate from the DSRC interface. The onboard unit is provided with a public and a private electronic key of the onboard unit. In the mobile telephone, an encrypted ticket is received and the encrypted ticket is sent to the onboard unit. In the onboard unit, the encrypted ticket is received, the received ticket is decrypted, and the ticket is transmitted to the radio beacon for redemption.

Abstract: A method for validating a road traffic control transaction. The method includes: storing a cryptographic key assigned to a transaction receiver, in the transaction receiver; recording an image of a vehicle; reading an identification of the vehicle in the recorded image by OCR and generating a control transaction thereof in the control station; generating a random key and encrypting the recorded image into authentication data with the random key and the cryptographic key in the control station; transmitting the recorded image, the control transaction, the random key and the authentication data to the transaction receiver; in the transaction receiver, encrypting the received recorded image into nominal authentication data with the received random key and the stored cryptographic key; and comparing the received authentication data with the nominal authentication data. The received control transaction is then validated when the received authentication data and the nominal authentication data are identical.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for reading license plate numbers in a road network, comprising: recording an image of a license plate number at a first location, OCR-reading a license plate character string in the image, and storing an OCR data set in a database; recording an image of a license plate number at a second location, OCR-reading a license plate number character string in the image, and generating a current OCR data set; and, if a confidence measure of the current OCR data set falls below a first minimum confidence value, selecting a stored OCR data set with a license plate number image having a similarity exceeding a minimum similarity value and/or having the greatest similarity to the license plate number image of the current OCR data set, and using the selected OCR data set for improving the license plate number character string of the current OCR data set.

Abstract: A beacon with a transceiver for radio communication with vehicle OBUs of a road toll system, wherein the transceiver has a directional antenna and is configured to communicate wirelessly with OBUs on a selected channel directed via the directional antenna wherein the transceiver is additionally equipped with an omnidirectional antenna and is configured to transmit, before the beginning of a directional radio communication, by means of the omnidirectional antenna a channel reservation message and/or to check, before the beginning of a directional radio communication, by means of the omnidirectional antenna whether the selected channel is free.

Abstract: A vehicle device for a road toll system including: a satellite navigation receiver for continuously generating location data for a processing and transmitting/receiving unit of the vehicle device; and a trusted-element processor configured to log a time segment of the generated location data and to cryptographically signing said time segment. The trusted-element processor is further configured to start said logging upon detection of a predefined time or a predefined location of the vehicle device and to carry out said logging for a predefined time segment.

Abstract: A mobile monitoring device including a first sensor for measuring the speed of vehicles passing through a first detection range with a first time stamp; a second sensor for measuring the geometry of vehicles passing through a second detection range with a second time stamp; a camera for recording images of vehicles passing through a third detection range with a third time stamp; and an evaluation device, which calculates from the speed measurement value, first time stamp and first detection range, and from the geometry measurement value, second time stamp and second detection range, the place and time in or at which a passage of the vehicle is to be expected in the third detection range, to determine the matching image on the basis of the third time stamp and third detection range therefrom. The invention additionally relates to such a monitoring method.

Abstract: A device for measuring a vehicle on a roadway, comprising a carrier structure, which has a support axis that can be oriented transversely over the roadway, a plurality of transmitter elements, which are distributed along the support axis on the carrier structure and each downwardly emit a light measuring beam, each light measuring beam being located in an emission direction extending normal to the support axis, at least one receiver element, which is installed on the carrier structure and receives reflected light measuring beams, and an evaluation unit, which is connected to the transmitter and receiver elements for the time of flight measurement and, based thereon, measurement of a vehicle, wherein the emission directions of at least two transmitter elements are not parallel to each other.

Abstract: A method is described for detecting a rotating wheel of a vehicle that is travelling on a roadway in a travel direction, the wheels of which are at least partially exposed laterally, the method comprising: emitting an electromagnetic measurement beam having a known temporal progression of its frequency onto a first section above the roadway in a direction in a slant with respect to the vertical and normally or at a slant with respect to the travel direction; receiving a reflected measurement beam and recording the temporal progression of its frequencies, relative to the known progression, as a reception frequency mixture progression; and detecting a frequency band, which is continuously inclining or declining over a period of time, in the reception frequency mixture progression as a wheel. A device for conducting the method is also described.

Abstract: Control devices and methods for a road toll system that is based on on-board units carried by vehicles, comprising: in a marking vehicle detecting a traffic or toll violation of an on-board unit, and, if a violation exists, transmitting a marker to the on-board unit via a DSRC radio interface; in an on-board unit periodically determining, upon receipt of a marker, the position of the unit and broadcasting a position message containing the respective current position; and in the control unit: detecting the vehicle based on at least one of the position messages that are broadcast by the on-board unit.

Abstract: A method for measuring a height profile of a vehicle passing on a road, said method comprising the following steps: directing a monocular camera from a point above the road onto the road with an angle of aperture that captures a section of the road from above, recording at least a first image of the passing vehicle by the camera at a first moment in time, recording at least a second image of the passing vehicle by the camera at a second moment in time, generating a movement vector image of the vehicle from an analysis of the optical flow between the first and the second image, and creating the height profile of the vehicle from the movement vector image.

Abstract: Methods are described for charging fees in a road toll system. An on-board unit identification is input into a toll terminal to generate a transaction identification. The transaction identification is transmitted to a transaction server, and from the server to a transaction terminal. A payment card identification is input into the transaction terminal, and is transmitted with the transaction identification to the server. A substitute identification, generated in the transaction server and associated with the card identification, and the transaction identification are transmitted from the transaction server to the toll terminal. The on-board unit identification and substitute identification, associated by the transaction identification, are transmitted from the toll terminal to a toll server.

Abstract: A control method for a road toll system using vehicle-based on-board units, recording vehicles, control vehicles, cellular mobile communication networks, and switching servers, comprising: registering a recording vehicle identifier and a mobile communication network cell identifier in the switching server; selecting a cell identifier in a control vehicle and transmitting the same with a control vehicle identifier to the switching server; associating the control vehicle identifier with the recording vehicle identifier for which a cell identifier that is identical to the selected cell identifier is registered; detecting a traffic or toll violation by means of the recording vehicle and transmitting a violation data record to the switching server, determining the assigned control vehicle identifier; transmitting the violation data record to the control vehicle identified by the determined identifier; and processing the violation data record in the control vehicle.

Abstract: A method and a radio beacon for determining a distance of a vehicle passing a radio beacon of a road toll system, from beacon. The vehicle is equipped with an onboard unit, which emits a signal with a known curve of its frequency over time. The method includes receiving the signal in the radio beacon during passage of the vehicle and recording a curve of its frequency over time in relation to the known frequency curve; detecting a change in the recorded frequency curve exceeding a predetermined threshold value; looking for two far regions in the frequency curve lying before and after the detected change in time and showing a frequency change below a threshold value; scaling the recorded frequency curve in such a manner that the far regions assume predetermined values; and determining the said distance from a gradient of the scaled frequency curve in an inflection point thereof.

Abstract: Method for determining toll fees for vehicles in a road toll system including vehicle-onboard units and positionally distributed beacons capable of communicating with the onboard units via radio signals. The method includes: providing a toll fee level and a validity time frame; retrieving an identifier of the onboard unit, the toll fee level and the validity time frame from the onboard unit as a data record; resetting the toll fee level, if the validity time frame has expired; increasing the toll fee level and storing the updated data record in the onboard unit and the beacon; transmitting a request for deletion of stored data records for this identifier to other beacons; transmitting the data record from the beacon to the central station, if no deletion request for the data record arrives within the validity time frame; and deleting the data record in the beacon.

Abstract: A transponder, such as an electronic toll transponder, is configured to recognize when it is being subjected to consistent and repeated trigger signals over an extended period of time and, in response, the transponder enters a reduced-responsiveness state. In the reduced-responsiveness state, the transponder may only intermittently respond to detected trigger signals. The transponder may recognize when the repeated trigger signal situation has been resolved and then return to normal responsiveness.