EPA Victoria’s search for the supplier of Victoria’s new acoustic cameras has found the best candidate is a business in our own backyard.
South Melbourne company SenSen Networks Ltd will supply seven cameras at a cost of nearly a million dollars for the two-year trial which is being supported by the Victorian Government to put pressure on noisy vehicle owners and hoon drivers.
Port Phillip, Casey, Knox and Stonnington councils have already been chosen for the first phase of the trial, where four cameras will be installed. EPA in consultation with the councils will select street locations for the cameras based on logistical access and history of noisy vehicle reports.
The trial will extend to seven cameras in the second part of the trial.
The SenSen roadside acoustic cameras will detect noisy vehicles and capture their registration details allowing EPA to send a notice requiring their owners to submit the vehicle for noise testing at an accredited testing facility.
Failure to submit to the test or to bring the vehicle into compliance can result in substantial fines of $1,221 for individuals and $6,105 for companies.
The councils were identified as areas where noisy vehicle hotspots exist, based on analysis of Victoria Police noisy vehicle reports submitted to EPA.
“Finding the best supplier of the cameras is a crucial stage in the trial and it is really pleasing to see that a Victorian-based company has the necessary technical expertise and innovation to be the successful tender bidder.”
“This trial creates the opportunity to test innovative technology to help get noisy vehicles off the roads and protect the community from excessive noise,” said EPA Victoria CEO Joss Crawford.
CEO of SenSen Networks, Dr Subhash Challa added; “Regulators have spent years trying to automate noise enforcement, and the public record shows why it is hard. What matters here is that EPA Victoria can act on our evidence from the first day of the program. This product adds one more sense to a platform that already sees, reads and maps the physical world. Every new sensing modality we integrate opens a new market and supports the broader use of AI for good.”
The trial will go live later this year.
