[THESIS] Intelligent Optronic Systems for Mobility and Road Safety

Resume :

Fostering mobility in transport and strengthening road safety are two priorities of the Ministry of the Interior, which calls on the actors of the road sector to work together to find and develop solutions. Among them, the implementation of reserved lanes on freeways and peri-urban roads and the development of reliable control systems to enforce it, involving systems for counting intra-vehicle passengers with a low error rate. Among the solutions evoked to improve road safety, we can mention for example the implementation of systems to detect the use of the telephone "in hand" while driving, or to control the wearing (or non-wearing) of seat belts¹.  Also, the implementation on road infrastructures of systems to detect vulnerable users (pedestrians, cyclists, scooters, etc.) that can inform the drivers of tomorrow's connected vehicle of the presence of these users, and thus help reduce the accident rate at certain crossroads, for example.

The company FARECO (FAYAT group), which is funding this doctoral thesis, is in the front line in responding to the Ministry of the Interior's call for tenders for the development of optronic systems that answer these questions (passenger counting, non-use of seat belts, cell phone use while driving) according to the specifications drawn up by the Ministry with the support of CEREMA². French leader in traffic light signalling and expert in intelligent traffic light controllers and priority management for public transport, FARECO is today a key player in the field of traffic data collection. The group is present in more than 20 countries through its toll systems, access control and electronic vehicle identification activities. It has been offering innovative automated control solutions for over a decade: on-board mobile speed cameras. This has enabled FARECO to become one of the main suppliers to the Ministry of the Interior. Placing innovation at the heart of its strategy, FARECO has embarked on a profound shift in technological innovation in all its areas of activity. This enables FARECO to meet the new challenges of intelligent mobility on the roads and in connected cities.

The thesis work includes several research avenues in the common denominator of the targeted optronic systems. A first track focuses on the design and optimization of a system for illuminating the targeted scene, in the infra-red domain. This implies in particular a characterization of the diffuse reflection of materials usually found in the passenger compartment of vehicles (fabrics, leather, plastics, etc.), and the search for a best optical signature for the objects (telephone, seatbelt) or users (pedestrians, cyclists, scooters, etc.) targeted. The performance of the illuminant (power, repetition rate, angular distribution, etc.) will be optimized while complying with eye safety standards. A second line of research concerns the optimization of the detector's performance in order to reduce the impact of stray reflections from ambient lighting on the glass surfaces of vehicles, both day and night.  A third area of research concerns the system architecture, which may, for example, consist of several synchronized systems for simultaneous illumination and detection from several angles. A fourth area of research concerns image processing and the use of neural networks to identify the target in an intelligent and automated manner. The methods and devices implemented should make it possible to lower the detection error rate to unequalled levels that can be controlled by the certifying bodies.

Name of the company funding the thesis: FARECO (FAYAT group)

Location of the position: Gennevilliers (92) and Institut d'Optique (91, Palaiseau)

Funding: CIFRE

Position attached to the Industrial Photonics Group of the Charles Fabry Laboratory.

Position to be filled as soon as possible (fall 2020)

Contact : Yvan SORTAIS yvan.sortais [a] institutoptique.fr, mobile : 06 88 01 38 36

[1] According to the 2019 ONISR report on road safety, one out of ten accidents involving injuries is related to the use of the telephone while driving, about half of which are in hand. And concerning the wearing of seatbelts, in 2019, 347 people killed in passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, trucks or buses were not wearing their seatbelts, i.e. 23% of those killed for whom the wearing of seatbelts is informed.

[2] Centre d'études et d'expertise sur les risques, l'environnement, la mobilité et l'aménagement (Centre for studies and expertise on risks, the environment, mobility and development).