“Seeing is believing.”

That may be true, but for most of us, we assume the seeing is done via the visible spectrum. Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) are often designed with the assumption that clear visibility is a given.

In reality, many roadways operate in conditions where traditional visible-spectrum cameras struggle to perform reliably. Fog, heavy rain, snow, glare from low-angle sun, and nighttime darkness all reduce contrast and obscure critical details.

For traffic engineers and transportation managers, these conditions create gaps in detection, safety, and situational awareness.

Thermal cameras address these challenges by detecting heat rather than reflected light. Instead of relying on color or illumination, thermal imaging highlights temperature differences between vehicles, pedestrians, animals, and the surrounding environment. This allows objects to remain detectable even in complete darkness or adverse weather conditions that overwhelm standard cameras.

Where Improved Visibility Matters Most

While visible-spectrum cameras may be perfectly suitable for the specific application and environment, there are common environmental factors that lead traffic engineers to consider an enhanced approach. Coastal areas are more prone to dense fog. Intersections with heavy pedestrian and cyclist traffic add complexity and increased safety risk. Eastbound—westbound traffic often experiences intense sun glare during sunrise and sunset. In these cases, thermal cameras are ideal for ensuring an ITS operates safely and efficiently.

Benefits of Enhanced ITS with Thermal Cameras

Incorporating thermal cameras into an ITS can improve safety and system efficiency. They can enhance detection accuracy, which translates into improved system uptime, more reliable traffic counts, and better data for traffic modeling. For applications such as ramp metering, adaptive signal control, and wrong-way driver detection, consistent sensing is critical—and thermal cameras help maintain that consistency across all weather seasons and lighting conditions.

Traffic managers also benefit operationally. Thermal-enabled ITS deployments can reduce false alarms caused by shadows, headlights, or reflections, leading to faster response times and greater confidence in automated alerts. In high-risk areas such as tunnels, bridges, mountain passes, and evacuation routes, this reliability leads to more proactive traffic management and improved roadway safety.

Thermal cameras have broad applicability in almost any ITS. They can work as a complementary sensor along with visible spectrum cameras, providing a more complete picture of roadway conditions. If enabled with AI capabilities, the result is an ITS better equipped to quickly detect and classify objects along with location, speed, and direction. The trend is clearly toward richer data and smarter overall traffic management; thermal cameras are an impactful solution to help future proof tomorrows ITS.

Want to learn how Flir thermal cameras can help improve your ITS? Complete the form and a Flir expert with get back to you.