Patton Demonstrates Ethernet Extension Solution for Maryland Traffic Control Systems

By Clayton Hamshar
Contributing Writer

Patton (News - Alert) Electronics demonstrated the latest application of its reputable Ethernet extension technology at the Secured Cities 2014 conference in Baltimore last week: an IP-networked traffic control solution the company built in response to a request from the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA).

The SHA was tasked with upgrading Maryland’s legacy closed-loop traffic control system to a centrally managed IP network, in order to comply with requirements set forth by the Department of Homeland Security. The administration sought a company from within the state to provide the technology, in order to help the local economy and create jobs, and found Patton to be a perfect fit with its world headquarters and manufacturing facility located in Gaithersburg, MD.

Patton’s system employs the CopperLink CL1314MDE Multi-Drop Ethernet Extender and Repeater as well as CopperLink™ CL1314R ruggedized long-range Ethernet extenders. The CL1314MDE features an integrated 4-port Ethernet switch, enabling it to interconnect IP-enabled cameras, controllers and sensors with an IP router. It is intended to be installed in the equipment cabinet of each central intersection.

By leveraging the existing copper-twisted-pair cabling infrastructure that has been in place for years, this technology avoids the expense and inconvenience of laying new fiber-optic cable. Laying new cable would be a long and arduous process, involving extensive road closings, demolition, trenching and reconstruction.

With Patton’s Muti-Drop Ethernet technology, the SHA can now centrally manage a dedicated IP network from its headquarters that interconnects traffic signals, cameras, sensors and controllers. This ensures that traffic moves at an optimal place by having all the components of the control system interact with each other. Additionally Patton’s technology is able to reach speeds up to 5.7 Mbps, ensuring flawless network communication.

The specialized system Patton developed for the SHA is in fact an enhanced version of the CopperLink CL1212 Ethernet Extender, which the company just announced last week is now available to the general public. The dual-port CL1212 again leverages existing copper cabling to enable bandwidth-intensive activities such as large file transfers, data backhaul, IP telephony, streaming music and IP video.

Once Patton’s system is in place, Maryland will finally be able to provide intuitively managed traffic control similar to that offered in other states. However, it should be noted that this solution is more of a quick and easy fix as opposed to the long-term investment made by some other administrations for an all-new, robust fiber optic cable infrastructure.

Edited by Maurice Nagle