Advancing Tolling & Traffic Management with Intrada Technology: Interview with Marco Sinnema, our VP Head of Image Review Solutions
As urban areas grow and traffic becomes more complex, managing tolls and traffic flow efficiently is more critical than ever. Q-Free is at the forefront of this challenge, transforming the industry with its cutting-edge Intrada technology. We had the pleasure to talk with our VP Head of Image Review Solutions Dr. Marco Sinnema, to discuss how Intrada is reshaping tolling, traffic management, and enforcement worldwide.
Marco, can you tell us how Intrada technology fits into different traffic markets?
Intrada technology is essential in several traffic areas, including tolling, speed enforcement, parking, and access control. It’s designed to be very accurate and dependable, helping to automatically recognize license plates and analyze vehicle data. For example, Intrada makes toll transactions faster and more accurate by automating license plate reading, even in tough conditions. This reduces the need for manual checks, lowers error rates, and helps keep traffic moving smoothly. Intrada supports over 200 countries, making sure these systems work well around the world.
Take Intrada Insight, for instance—it enhances video tolling by boosting accuracy while cutting costs. It’s camera-agnostic, meaning it works with any camera or back-office system.
Then there’s Intrada ALPR, known for its reliability in recognizing license plates, which is crucial for parking and speed enforcement.
We also have Intrada Synergy Server (ISS), a high-performance image processor that integrates easily with any system for tolling, parking, and enforcement applications.
We have a lot of great application areas that don’t necessarily come to people’s mind thinking about our technology, like for example detection of cellular usage while driving, quickly looking up vehicle information in service stations, and streamlining operations in car wash facilities.
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With so much rapid innovation in tech, how does that influence Intrada’s development?
As market-oriented technologists, we are of course very interested in everything that moves in this field that can improve the value proposition of our products. AI is for example key to how Intrada identifies vehicles.
Intrada’s fingerprinting technology is also worth mentioning. This technology creates a unique “fingerprint” for each vehicle by analyzing features such as the license plate and vehicle shape. This helps match vehicles across different camera views, even if the license plate isn’t fully visible. This automation reduces the need for manual checks, speeds up processing, and improves accuracy, especially in busy toll systems.
Our R&D department works in close collaboration with academia, helping each other by sharing research findings and experiences. This way, we make sure we constantly keep up with the latest developments in image processing technology.
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With so many innovations put into life already, what do you see next for Intrada and tolling and traffic management technology?
We’re pushing forward in several areas. Recently, we’ve added real-time analytics, so toll operators can quickly correct potential issues and avoid errors like mischarges. Looking ahead, AI and machine learning will become even more advanced, allowing us to predict problems before they occur. We’re also exploring edge computing to make roadside systems faster and more responsive.
On the operations side, our Intrada Operational Back Office is a complete end-to-end toll management platform. It gives insight into traffic flow and toll usage, with full control over vehicle identification, transaction processing, and more. It’s a big step forward toward standardization and scalability, and lets operators efficiently run their tolling operations.
While this focus on advanced technology is in our DNA and remains a constant, we always keep in mind that our true priority is creating solutions that serve our customers and the communities they impact. It’s about being a seamless partner for our clients to tackle complex challenges, never losing sight of the problems we're solving with each innovation.
We’re very excited to continue driving innovation and delivering solutions that make a real difference for both customers and the millions of travelers on the road every day.