Intelligent 360° Radar for Traffic Monitoring | Banská Bystrica, Slovensko
- emst
- Jul 23
- 2 min read
Emst s.r.o., in cooperation with Betamont s.r.o., organized a presentation of a 360° rotating radar for automatic incident detection in road traffic on 7 May 2026. The demonstration took place on the R1 motorway at km 161.0 near Banská Bystrica, Slovakia.
The purpose of the presentation was to showcase the capabilities of the detection radar in applications and situations that road operators encounter while ensuring the management of road infrastructure and the safety of its users. The demonstrated incidents included a stationary vehicle, a slow-moving vehicle, a vehicle travelling in the wrong direction, a pedestrian, and an obstacle on the roadway (fallen object). Additional supported events that were not demonstrated during the presentation include traffic queue detection and wildlife movement detection.
The event was attended by representatives of National Motorway Company (Národná diaľničná spoločnosť), Via Pribina and Vinci Highways, as well as system integrators and designers of motorway technologies. Participants had a unique opportunity to meet directly and engage in technical discussions with the equipment manufacturer, Navtech Radar Ltd.
The radar antenna rotates around its axis at a frequency of 4 Hz within the 77 GHz frequency band and provides a detection range of up to 500 m. This enables the system to detect incidents across all traffic lanes under all weather and lighting conditions. Thanks to its high detection rate and accuracy, the technology can identify both static and dynamic incidents while precisely determining their location. As a result, operators in the traffic management centre receive comprehensive information about detected incidents and can use the location data for visualization purposes or, in the case of dynamic incidents, for object tracking through a video surveillance system.
The theoretical information presented was subsequently validated through live demonstrations of individual incident scenarios. These scenarios were simulated in a closed fast lane while heavy traffic was maintained in the adjacent lane in the direction of Zvolen. Since the radar detects all incidents occurring within its detection zone and displays alarms according to predefined priorities, only the incidents currently being demonstrated were activated during the presentation.
The incident simulations were conducted within the radar detection range of up to 500 m, depending on the type of incident. With the radar configured for the demonstration, detections were typically generated within 10 to 30 seconds, and no incident went undetected throughout the testing. The radar was also able to automatically direct and zoom a pan-tilt surveillance camera onto the detected incident and continuously track moving objects, such as a wrong-way vehicle or a pedestrian, thereby providing visual information without requiring operator intervention.
The presentation confirmed that radar technology is capable of significantly enhancing safety on road networks and represents a valuable addition to motorway and road traffic information and management systems.
Special thanks go to Betamont s.r.o. for its cooperation in organizing the event, as well as to all participants for their interest and engagement.
You can watch the recording of the presentation in the video below.
