Automatic Vehicles Detection, Classification and Counting Techniques / Survey

Abstract

Vehicle detection (VD) plays a very essential role in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) that have been intensively studied within the past years. The need for intelligent facilities expanded because the total number of vehicles is increasing rapidly in urban zones. Trafï¬c monitoring is an important element in the intelligent transportation system, which involves the detection, classification, tracking, and counting of vehicles. One of the key advantages of traffic video detection is that it provides traffic supervisors with the means to decrease congestion and improve highway planning. Vehicle detection in videos combines image processing in real-time with computerized pattern recognition in flexible stages. The real-time processing is very critical to keep the appropriate functionality of automated or continuously working systems. VD in road traffics has numerous applications in the transportation engineering field. In this review, different automated VD systems have been surveyed,  with a focus on systems where the rectilinear stationary camera is positioned above intersections in the road rather than being mounted on the vehicle. Generally, three steps are utilized to acquire traffic condition information, including background subtraction (BS), vehicle detection and vehicle counting. First, we illustrate the concept of vehicle detection and discuss background subtraction for acquiring only moving objects. Then a variety of algorithms and techniques developed to detect vehicles are discussed beside illustrating their advantages and limitations. Finally, some limitations shared between the systems are demonstrated, such as the definition of ROI, focusing on only one aspect of detection, and the variation of accuracy with quality of videos. At the point when one can detect and classify vehicles, then it is probable to more improve the flow of the traffic and even give enormous information that can be valuable for many applications in the future.