Improving Toll System Performance:
The Importance of Radio Frequency Spectrum Management
Understanding Radio Frequency Spectrum Management
Are you experiencing radio interference in your toll system? Seeing delayed transactions, inconsistent vehicle detection, or communication errors within your system? Improper radio frequency spectrum management might be at the root of these problems.
One of the challenges faced by the deployment of multi-lane tolling systems is the management of the available radio frequency (RF) spectrum. Although they are invisible to the naked eye, there are radio waves all around us. From infrastructure such as cell towers and airports, to household objects such as Wi-Fi routers and baby monitors, radio waves are a part of our daily lives. The more radio waves there are in the environment, the more likely it is for there to be interference and noise. Similar to nonrenewable resources such as gas and coal, the RF spectrum is a limited resource that needs to be used efficiently for optimal performance in tolling systems.
Installations that only require a single transmitter (reader) do not have to contend with interference from adjacent lanes. However, when a deployment requires coverage of two or more lanes, more transmitters are needed to cover the additional lanes sufficiently. Each additional transmitter adds to congestion of the available RF spectrum, leading to a possible degradation in performance of the overall system.
STAR System readers such as the TITAN and TARVOS are engineered to have extremely fine control over its Occupied Channel Bandwidth (the ability of the reader to control its frequency consumption) and can manage adjacent channel interference. However, there is a limit to this ability in certain situations, such as when an active protocol is being used. STAR Systems is making RF spectrum management easier and more efficient by developing a new method of reader synchronization which pushes the accuracy of the system to even higher levels.
STAR Systems’ Radio Frequency Management Approach: Our Dedication to Ensure Optimal Performance
STAR Systems International recently introduced an Ethernet-based precision timing feature that allows multiple TITAN Pro and TARVOS Pro readers to be synchronized within nanosecond precision. This synchronization of readers increases the accuracy and overall system performance of RFID tolling systems, especially in high-speed, multi-lane, and multi-protocol applications.
Using Ethernet-based precision timing for RF spectrum management, the STAR System engineering team implemented reader synchronization without the need to install separate physical hardwire cabling. With this method, the TITAN Pro and TARVOS Pro has demonstrated synchronization measured within hundreds of nanoseconds. In addition, the flexibility of the reader platform allows a variety of synchronization models to be implemented via the standard software interface. Any aspect of the TITAN Pro and TARVOS Pro can be synchronized together and finely tuned to the necessary specifications.
With this new synchronization feature, toll operators can manage the RF spectrum with greater control and detail than ever before. Proper coverage of all lanes and shoulders can be ensured and radio interference in the environment can be drastically reduced.
RF spectrum management is an important factor in all RFID applications, especially in multi-lane free flow operations where there may be a lot of excessive noise and interference from the external environment. Careful usage of the available RF spectrum may be all it takes to improve a good system to an exceptionally great system with even higher accuracy and reliability.
For more information on RF spectrum management and how STAR Systems can help you improve your tolling system performance, please contact salesinquiry@star-int.net.