Cincoze Rugged Edge Computers Keep Highway Electronic Toll Collection Running Reliably
Highway electronic toll collection (ETC) systems use automated vehicle identification and toll charging technologies to collect tolls without traditional manned toll booths, improving traffic flow and reducing staffing needs. As traffic volumes grow and system architectures become more complex, ETC systems must not only process data in real time but also withstand harsh outdoor roadside conditions, including temperature fluctuations, constant vibration, and unstable power, ensuring long-term stable operation.
A North American ETC operator specializing in electronic tolling, road maintenance, and traffic management services deployed 200 Cincoze High Performance & PCIe Expandable edge computers (DS-1402) as the core computing platform to improve the efficiency and reliability of its toll collection system. The DS-1402 units, with their rugged design and high-performance computing capabilities, support vehicle identification, real-time traffic data processing, and integration with diverse equipment, providing reliable round-the-clock operation of the smart road tolling system.
Product Requirements
Real-Time Processing of Vehicle Traffic Data
Highway ETC systems require computing platforms to process large volumes of vehicle identification and toll data in real time, while efficiently integrating and transmitting the data to back-end toll collection systems to ensure smooth tolling operations and maintain traffic flow.
Rich I/O for Integrating Toll Collection Peripherals
The toll system needs to connect to electronic tag sensors, license plate recognition cameras, vehicle detectors, network equipment, and other roadside toll equipment, so the edge computer must offer rich I/O interfaces and flexible expandability to support multiple device connections and data transmission while simplifying on-site deployment.
Low Maintenance Requirements
Road toll equipment is deployed outdoors, where it is exposed to temperature, vibration, and other environmental challenges. Because on-site maintenance is difficult, the edge computer must offer robust environmental tolerance to reduce maintenance frequency and costs.
Why Cincoze?
High-Performance Computing Power
The DS-1402 supports Bartlett Lake-S and 14th/13th/12th Gen Intel® Core™ processors up to 65W TDP, with up to 96GB of DDR5 memory, providing ample computing performance for vehicle identification, toll data processing, and multiple system tasks. Support for the Intel® OpenVINO™ toolkit also lays the computing foundation for future AI applications such as image recognition.
Diverse I/O and PCIe Expansion
The DS-1402 is equipped with rich I/O interfaces, including 2× GbE LAN, 8× USB, and 2× COM, as well as 2 PCI/PCIe expansion slots for adding data acquisition, communication, and other function cards as system requirements dictate. A GPU card can also be installed for AI applications, boosting inference and image processing performance. In addition, Cincoze's exclusive modular design allows more GbE LAN ports to be added, or expansion with high-speed 10GbE LAN, DIO, COM, PoE, and other functions, flexibly integrating all types of toll collection peripherals and simplifying on-site cabling and system deployment.
Rugged and Reliable for 24/7 Operation
The DS-1402 features a rugged design with a wide operating temperature range of -40°C to 70°C and a wide 9–48VDC voltage input, along with overvoltage, overcurrent, and ESD protection to handle temperature changes and power fluctuations in outdoor roadside environments. It is also certified to MIL-STD-810G and carries UL safety certification, delivering the reliability needed for long-term stable operation and making it ideal for highway toll systems that must run 24/7.
Q&A
Q1：Should highway electronic toll collection systems use industrial computers or commercial computers?
A：Industrial computers are recommended. Highway ETC systems must run around the clock without interruption, and their equipment is mostly deployed in outdoor roadside cabinets, where it is regularly exposed to environmental challenges such as extreme temperatures, vibration, and electromagnetic interference. Compared with standard commercial computers, industrial computers offer better environmental tolerance, operational reliability, and expandability. The Cincoze high-performance PCIe expansion edge computer (DS-1402) features a rugged design with wide-temperature operation and offers rich I/O and modular expansion capabilities to flexibly integrate license plate recognition cameras, vehicle detectors, and communication equipment, meeting the long-term stable operation needs of ETC systems.
Q2：Why do highway electronic toll collection systems need industrial computers?
A：Highway ETC systems must process vehicle identification, toll, and transaction data in real time, and integrate electronic tag sensors, cameras, vehicle detectors, and network equipment. With high computing performance, rich I/O, and a rugged design, industrial computers support the long-term stable operation of toll systems.
Q3：How do highway electronic toll collection systems integrate multiple types of field equipment?
A：Highway ETC systems need to connect electronic tag sensors, license plate recognition cameras, vehicle detectors, and network equipment, so the computing platform requires diverse and flexible I/O. The Cincoze high-performance PCIe expansion edge computer (DS-1402) provides LAN, USB, COM, and PCI/PCIe expansion slots, and its exclusive modular design allows more GbE LAN ports to be added, or expansion with high-speed 10GbE LAN, DIO, COM, PoE, and other functions, flexibly integrating all types of toll collection peripherals and simplifying on-site cabling and system deployment.
Q4：How can highway electronic toll collection systems meet future AI application needs?
A：As smart transportation applications such as license plate recognition and image analysis advance, ETC systems require sufficient computing power and support for AI applications. The Cincoze high-performance PCIe expansion edge computer (DS-1402) supports Bartlett Lake-S and 14th-, 13th-, 12th-gen Intel® Core™ processors, up to 96GB of DDR5 memory, and the Intel® OpenVINO™ toolkit, providing the computing foundation for AI applications such as image recognition. In addition, up to 2 PCI/PCIe expansion slots allow a compatible GPU card to be installed as needed, further boosting AI inference and image processing performance.
