Internet of things (IoT) technology is to be installed in school zones across the state of Georgia to improve road safety for children. The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is working with Applied Information and AT&T to deploy the technology, and will also be the first state to apply this IoT technology for school districts statewide.
The Glance School Zone Beacon System, which was developed by Applied Information in collaboration with AT&T and Temple, Inc., will be installed at more than 300 schools in 118 Georgia Counties in time for the first bell of the 2018 school year. The program connects school zone beacons – used for slowing down drivers as they pass a school – to make them more reliable and responsive in the event of inclement weather, time zone changes, holidays or other potential disruptions.
This system will be a welcome sight for parents and children across Georgia, with speed enforcement in school zones no longer requiring human intervention. Georgia House Bill 978, which took effect on July 1, 2018, allows schools to deploy speed-detection cameras, which many believe will help with compliance. However, some are still concerned as there were at least three fatalities in metro Atlanta school zones in the last school year.
Each smart beacon has its own cellular modem to handle all communication, enabling traffic engineers using their smartphone or tablet to determine if the beacons are correctly and, if necessary, instantly alert the appropriate resources in the event of lamp or battery failures. AT&T’s 4G/LTE mobile network will power the smart beacons and AT&T’s IoT platform will be used to manage the solution on the backend.
Mike Zeto, vice president of AT&T IoT Solutions, believes that mobile technology is becoming more integrated into existing traffic equipment. “Our initiative with Applied Information is a great example of our growing effort in public safety to help cities become safer.”
“Making school zone beacons smarter is a perfect example of how we can use connected technology to improve safety on our roadways,” says Bryan Mulligan, President, Applied Information, Inc. “GDOT is to be commended for taking the lead to improve safety around school zones on such a large scale and in such a short amount of time to be prepared for the new school year.”
