CAM-33

Fallen tree blocking the road

A tree has come down from its pit and its branches now cover both lanes. Cars are stopped on either side and loose branches are scattered over the tarmac.

CAM-33 · CONFIDENCE 93% · 2 LANES BLOCKED

What IRIS understands

What it recognises in this scene

fallen tree
root ball
blocked vehicle
onlookers
worker
cone
vehicle

The rule

You decide once. IRIS applies it always.

a tree or a large branch falls onto the road

And alsoit blocks at least one lane

Then

alert the parks and trees crew
close the stretch to traffic
ask the local police to divert traffic

The instruction that set it up«Tell me if a tree falls onto the road, and how many lanes are blocked.»

What changes

What changes for whoever runs the city

At seven in the morning the tree is already down and the whole street is blocked: no bus, no deliveries, and an ambulance would not get through either. The duty engineer hears about it through three phone calls describing three different things, and the crew sets off not knowing whether it needs a chainsaw or a crane. With IRIS that engineer sees the image, knows how many lanes are blocked and who to call first. The crew leaves knowing what it will find, and the street reopens sooner.

What people usually ask

Does IRIS report a large branch too, or only a whole tree?

IRIS alerts for a large branch too, not only for a whole tree. The rule is not defined by the object but by what it takes up: any obstacle that lands on the road and blocks a lane triggers the alert. The council sets the minimum size it wants to hear about, so a windy day does not produce an alert for every leaf.

Does IRIS detect a fallen tree at night or in the rain?

IRIS detects a fallen tree at night as long as the camera gives a usable picture with the street lighting or infrared at that spot. In heavy rain the image degrades and detection becomes less reliable, exactly as it does for a human eye in front of the same monitor. That is why commissioning includes a point-by-point check of which cameras hold up at night and in rain, and says which do not.

How does IRIS know the street is blocked rather than a truck being parked?

IRIS tells them apart by the shape of the obstacle, where it appears and how it got there. A truck drives in, settles into a lane and has the outline of a vehicle; a tree appears all at once, lying across the carriageway and taking both directions. The rule also looks at the effect: cars stopping on either side and no longer moving. If there is still doubt, the operator opens the camera and sees it in a second.

Other cameras

A different case every time

Watch what happens. Then watch what IRIS does with it.

Not a recorded video and not a drawing: it is a summary of the real tool, with a different case each time round. The whole tool does not fit in a box.