With rapid urbanization and the continuous increase in vehicles, traffic congestion has become a severe challenge for governments worldwide. Traffic congestion leads to an increase in wasted commuting time, increasing anxiety and impatience for drivers, indirectly causing a yearly rise in accident rates. Specifically, when vehicles need to start and stop frequently, there is an increased possibility of collisions, and highway toll stations are places where the risk of accidents is particularly high. To address this situation, most traffic management authorities have begun to adopt ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) systems, aiming to reduce traffic delays, decrease accidents, and provide a better experience for drivers through electronic toll collection.

A state-owned highway operator in Asia selected the Cincoze CS-119/P1001 sunlight readable panel PCs as the key core component of its electronic toll collection system. When vehicles pass through a toll station, the automatic vehicle identification reads the barcode label or proximity card on the vehicle, and then automatically deducts the toll. Since this project was implemented, it not only significantly reduced traffic congestion at the toll station, but also effectively increased the traffic flow capacity by more than three times. Overall, the system has reduced the cost of manual toll collection, lowered the risk of cash loss, and avoided chaotic financial management, truly reflecting the efficiency of automated charging.

High brightness panel PC

The highway electronic toll collection system works like this: when a vehicle enters an automatic toll lane, the system reads the RFID tag affixed to the vehicle windshield, then a display next to the lane shows the toll fee, deducts the funds, then controls the gate to allow the vehicle to pass. The panel PC for this task must have stable computing performance and a high-brightness display so that drivers can still clearly read the billing information in bright sunlight.

I/O and wireless connectivity

The panel PC in the highway toll system needs to be connected to other peripherals, including an RFID reader, the stop/go signal light control, and the gate lifting control. In addition, the deduction amount and account balance need to be uploaded wirelessly to the control room or cloud.

Rugged and easy to maintain

Highway toll stations are usually located in outdoor environments and must be able to withstand various harsh weather conditions, such as rain, snow, ice, dust, and debris. Highway toll stations also need to operate uninterrupted 24/7. A computer breakdown could seriously affect the flow of highway traffic, so an easy-to-maintain panel PC is non-negotiable.

1,600 nits ultra-high brightness

The Cincoze sunlight readable panel PC (CS-119/P1001) is a panel PC series specially built for outdoor applications, with a high brightness display of 1,600 nits, which is clearly readable in the sunlight. Computing performance is provided by an Intel® Atom® processor, the perfect choice for uninterrupted, long-term, stable operation.

Rich I/O and wireless transmission

Cincoze sunlight readable panel PCs provide a rich selection of native I/O, including 2x GbE LAN, 4x USB, 2x COM ports(RS232/422/485), and 8x Isolated Digital I/O (4in/4out). The COM ports connect to the RFID reader of the automatic toll collection machine and control the stop/go light display. The DIO controls the opening and closing of the boom gate. It also has a Mini-PCIe and SIM slot for various wireless connections, such as WiFi, 4G, and GNSS.

Rugged design can adapt to various harsh environments

The front frame of the Cincoze sunlight readable panel PC (CS-119/P1001) is made of die-cast aluminum, and the front panel is IP65 waterproof and dustproof. The touchscreen display surface has a scratch-resistant hardness of up to 7H, which protects against damage caused by the outdoor environment, such as general wear and scratches. It also has a fanless design, supports 9-48V wide voltage power input, and can operate in a wide range of temperatures from -20°C to 70°C, meaning it can adapt to drastic changes in outdoor weather.

CDS patented technology, easy to maintain and upgrade

The patented Convertible Display System (Patent No. M482908) has a modular design that reduces downtime and makes future upgrades convenient. When failure or breakage occurs, the failed parts can be quickly restored to operation.

In addition to the above-mentioned CS-119/P1001 panel PC, there is also the new CS-119/P1201 in the same series. The new CS-119/P1201 uses the latest Intel Elkhart Lake platform and supports up to 32GB of DDR4 memory at up to 3200 MHz, which can significantly improve computing performance. Wireless transmission options include support for WIFI 6 through the M.2 key E slot, providing faster transmission, and can also be used with Bluetooth modules, while the Mini PCIe slot can support GNSS and 4G modules. In addition, in order to provide safer products that meet the highest standards and industrial-grade protections, both CS-119 and P1201 are UL-certified in the United States.