Automatic Toll Collection by using mobile phone

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Automatic Toll Collection

...by using individual car owner’s mobile phone & micro mobile towers...

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Description of Idea

• Whenever a car enters approach road to toll booth, a micro mobile tower situated a entrance, detects mobile number of car driver + a photograph is also taken.

• These mobile number + car photograph details are sent to a central database computer.

• This database computer sends back details of details of car that has been registered against that mobile number.

• Toll booth operator confirms that details sent by database computer is matching with the actual car approaching toll booth.

• Database computer sends instruction to Mobile service provider to deducts toll tax amount from the mobile balance (if it is prepaid), or adds into monthly mobile bill (if it is post paid).

• Car owner will get an SMS that “XX amount has been deducted from your mobile balance for toll tax……..”

• Month to month basis, mobile companies will give that amount collected from the toll tax debit to toll booth operator via bank transfer

• Car owner can send SMS to receive toll ticket by post, or can download from the internet.

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Micro mobile tower with range of 2 mfast camera

satellite

Central Database computer

< - Approach Road to Toll Booth

Toll booth

computer

Communication

device

gate

gate1000 m

Description of IdeaMajor components

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Micro mobile tower with range of 2 mfast camera

satellite


Toll booth

Communication

device

gate

gate1000 m

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234

5

6

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89

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Description of IdeaProcess Flow

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1 Car approaches toll booth & 1000 m away from toll booth gate.

2 Micro mobile tower detects mobile number of car driver + other people in car

3 A high speed camera clicks a photograph of the car, with a number plate visible.

4 Photograph + mobile number details are send to computer at toll booth

5 Computer sends these details to a communication system

6 Communication system send these details to a satellite

7 Satellite sends these details to a central database computer

8 Database computer sends back car details + mobile phone balance details

9 Satellite relays information received from the central computer

10 Communication device receives information & gives it to booth computer

11 Booth computer operator takes a decision & car is stopped OR gate is opened.

12 Database computer instructs mobile company to debit toll tax from customer mobile balance/bill. SMS is sent to customer for deduction of same.

Description of IdeaProcess flow - description

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Toll booth Name here..general actual (now)

No 9322223232 type cartype prepaid make marutiBalance 125 Rs model Swift LXiservice Reliance registration no GJ-6-CM-0000

Colour Red

general actual (now)No typetype makeBalance modelservice registration no

Colour

PHOTOGRAPHMobile Details

Mobile Details

Vehicle details

Vehicle details

confirm

confirm

A Details received from central database computer

B Photograph taken by the toll booth camera

C Button to confirm matching details of the vehicle.• Toll booth operator has to see the screen & confirm, that details are matching. • Toll booth GATE will be normally open type & it will still remain open, after this

confirmation unless computer finds that prepaid balance is insufficient to cover toll tax amount

Screen details of booth computer, when there is only one mobile number detected by system.

AA

A

B

C

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Colour Red

general actual (now)No 9255355461 type SUVtype post paid make MahindraBalance N A model Scorpioservice vodafone registration no MH-12-L-0000

Colour Blue


Mobile Details

Vehicle details

Vehicle details

confirm

confirm

Screen details of booth computer, when there are two mobile numbers detected by system & two car details are sent by central computer.

• This can happen, when, there are more than one person in car, both are having mobile phone & both person are having different car make & model.

• Toll booth operator only has to select which car details are matching with the photograph. Only the car for which details are matching will be considered for toll tax collection. People inside car, has to mutually work out toll tax share, based on SMS received.

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Colour Red

general actual (now)No 9322223232 type SUVtype prepaid make MahindraBalance 125 Rs model Scorpioservice Reliance registration no MH-12-L-0000

Colour Blue


Mobile Details

Vehicle details

Vehicle details

confirm

confirm

Screen details of booth computer, when there are one mobile number detected by system & two car details are sent by central computer.

• This can happen, when a car owner has 2 or more car registered against his mobile number.

• Toll booth operator only has to select which car details are matching with the photograph. This is required, in case there are different toll charges for different category of vehicles (like SUV, or passenger car, utility vehicle etc)

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No 9322223232 typetype prepaid makeBalance 125 Rs modelservice Reliance registration no

Colour

general actual (now)No typetype makeBalance modelservice registration no

Colour


Mobile Details

Vehicle details

Vehicle details

confirm

confirm

Screen details of booth computer, when there are one mobile number detected by system & NO car details are sent by central computer.

• This can happen, when a car is yet not registered in central computer database.

• Toll booth operator only has to close Toll booth gate & give a manual toll ticket to owner. System automatically prints a form in which mobile no details + car registration details + basic details of model / make / color is printed.

• Toll booth operator can give that form & get it signed by the car owner, so that his mobile number is linked with car registration number & next time he can drive without any stop.

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What happens later on..

Mobile Service Provider

No:1

computer


Details of Mobile NO / toll charge / time / date / reference number

81 Rs charged to your monthly bill / balance for toll tax. For receipt @ extra 5 Rs reply “YES” to this message. Or get free receipt at www.tolltax.com with reference no:31DE9971

From : LM-Toll Tax

Instant SMS sent to car owner

At the month end all amount collected from prepaid will be transferred to Toll booth operator a/cAt the two month end all amount collected from post paid will be transferred to Toll booth operator.

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Parameter RFID based Biometrics based system Mobile phone based

For public RFID tag or similar kind of device to be installed in each car

Nothing to be installed in car

Nothing to be installed in car

Identification accuracy High High High

Operational time available Can work for 24 h, day & night.

Can have difficulty in night or in rainy season.

Can work for 24 h, day & night & rainy season.

Ease of deployment for public

Tough, as individual car / vehicle needs to be tagged with RFID label

Easy, as nothing to be installed in car/vehicle.

Easy, as nothing to be installed in car/vehicle.

Ease of deployment for Toll booth operator

Easy, as only RFID tag scanner to be installed

Tough, as many multi angle camera/biometrics scanner to be installed

Easy, as only 1 camera + micro mobile tower to be installed.

Individual car owner’s bank details required

YES & linking bank details with car registration details is a tedious & inaccurate job.

YES & linking bank details with car registration details is a tedious & inaccurate job.

NO

Phase wise Deployment possible ?

No idea, but unless database is available of bank details of individuals, it is not possible to go ahead.

No idea, but unless database is available of bank details of individuals, it is not possible to go ahead.

Yes, with every car passing through toll booth, database can be updated instantly.

Comparison with other Automatic Vehicle Identification system XIXI

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Win/Win Situation

For government / Toll booth operator

Less congestion @ toll booth & hence higher turn around time

Lesser cost on manpower & cash handling / management at toll booth

Lesser cost of infrastructure vis-à-vis RFID based or biometrics based systems.

For public / users of toll high ways

Reduction in time @ toll booth, hence total time of travel reduces.

Increase in fuel usage, since vehicle do not stop at toll booth.

Don’t have to bother about odd charges at toll both like 81, 63 or 93 Rs

For companies like Siemens / others & mobile service providers (telco’s)

Potential market for their communication system.

Potential market for their software systems

For telco’s – value added service to their customer other then voice & data

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Other considerations / threats• Satellite is only one of the means to transmit data, it can be done via conventional modes of data

transfer like land line or mobile network as well.

• There are chances that people may have very less balance in their mobile phone (a common practice with prepaid users). In that case, system should not deduct money before the journey through toll booth is over. Since, they may need that balance in case of emergency while on the toll high way. People can avoid this, by recharging their mobile phone before start of journey, or Toll booth operator can set up small recharge outlet at the entry / exit of the toll highway.

• Software should be developed considering all aspects of toll road like people only using one stretch of the toll road, since they have left the toll road, on a bypass route in between. As each toll booth will be having this system, it is possible to detect exact distance traveled.

• Car theft also can be detected by this system, if some one has stolen the car & taking it away to other place to dispose.

• Threats

• Mainly with post paid users. If they don’t pay their bill sent by mobile service company. In that case mobile service company will be unable to pay the charges debited for toll tax. This can be tackled by recovering toll tax + fine, next time when that car owner travels again. Very rare chance, but it can happen.

• People are hesitant to give consent for linking their mobile number with car details. This has to be tackled by legal enforcement or by convincing.

• System not working :This issue to be addressed by way of maintenance contract & uptime guarantee clauses. Even a good system is useless without Reliability..

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Automatic Toll Collection by using mobile phone

Technology

Transcript of Automatic Toll Collection by using mobile phone