Over 110 km/h, no barrier needed - 7 years ago Mitsubishi demoed ERP-style RFID toll in Malaysia

• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI, not to be confused with Mitsubishi Motors) is supplier of Singapore’s ERP since 1998
• In 2015, MHI successfully demonstrated barrier-less RFID electronic toll collection in Malaysia
• MHI's headlamp-mounted RFID tag demonstrated to work at over 110 km/h

The Malaysian government has a long-term goal of replacing all toll plazas with barrier-less electronic toll collection systems by 2025. Under this multi-lane free flow (MLFF) setup, drivers will no longer need to slow down or stop their cars at a toll booth.

Instead, drivers will simply continue driving at normal speeds and readers on an overhead gantry will complete the toll payment collection electronically, very similar to what’s already been done in Singapore decades earlier.

The controversial radio frequency identity (RFID) electronic toll tag (commercial name MyRFID) rollout by PLUS is just one step towards the MLFF goal by 2025.

Complaints on MyRFID mostly centre around poor user experience – drivers having to do multiple attempts at reversing their vehicle back and forth to have their RFID tag detected, as well as a slow response time that’s no better than the existing IR-based SmartTag.

Users also question the need for RFID since there is zero benefit over SmartTag. Just like SmartTag, RFID users still need to wait for the toll barrier to lift, so it doesn't clear traffic any faster (1,000 cars per hour).

While RFID doesn’t use Touch N’ Go cards (TnG), you still need Touch N’ Go cards (and reload them) for parking. So why are we doing this?

But did you know that as far back as 2015, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) had already successfully demonstrated a barrier-less electronic toll collection system, very similar to the ones used by Singapore’s Electronic Road Pricing (ERP), in Malaysia?

An overhead test gantry and control centre was developed and built in cooperation with Touch 'N Go and Quatriz, installed in Technology Park Malaysia.

The gantry’s hardware include RFID readers as well as number plate recognition cameras. The latter was necessary in testing methods of billing / penalizing of vehicles with no RFID tag or have insufficient balance, without disrupting traffic flow.

In addition to that, MHI also installed RFID readers at 6 lanes in 5 toll plazas. These are Single Lane Free Flow types, with barrier, similar to current MyRFID setup.

To adapt to Malaysia-specific requirements, tests for RFID functionality were conducted with popular Malaysian cars to ensure reliable operation in local weather conditions.

MHI also tooked into interoperability of RFID tags issued by different manufacturers.

To cater to different cost requirements of highway operators in many parts of the world, MHI offered 3 different solutions.

The two most expensive ones require fitment of an on-board unit (OBU) - High-function type or Single-function type, both powered by the car’s battery. This is the ‘box’ you see on the dashboard of every Singaporean car, or the little card slot underneath many imported from Japanese cars.

High-function type is the most expensive, as it doesn’t even require overhead gantries but rely on global navigation satellites system (GNSS) data to measure distance travelled and the vehicle’s real-time location.

This method also allows the government to do away with enforcement of parking charges and regulations. The OBU will simply detect that the vehicle has entered a public parking zone, and will charge the driver accordingly.

This system is now being trialed in Singapore, which aims to do away with ERP gantries by 2023.

The second, mid-range solution is Single-Type Function. This is the existing device used in Singapore and Japan.

The OBU accepts various types of payment cards, including credit cards (no more Touch N’ Go monopoly), and deducts payment when the vehicle drives under a reader installed on an overhead gantry.

This OBU is also used to pay for parking. No ticket or tapping of Touch ‘N Go card is necessary. Once parked, users can also remove the card from the OBU and use it for public transport or cashless payment at convenient stores.

The third option, the Limited-Function Type is the cheapest as it doesn’t need an OBU. Instead, it’s a passive RFID unit about the size of a credit card, installed inside the vehicle, behind the rear-view mirror so it doesn’t block the driver’s view.

The in-car installation is something that would’ve been much more acceptable to Malaysians, who believe that such a solution is more secure, and won’t be easily damaged when going for a car wash.

MHI also tested external, headlamp-mounted RFID tags similar to the ones used by MyRFID, demonstrating that it can work on Malaysian highways event at speeds above 110 km/h.

However since these RFID tags are passive-type, this solution won’t be able to notify the driver that a payment has been made. Still, MHI says this solution is the most popular in Asia and Latin America.

MHI says its RFID tags operate using UHF band (900 MHz) to conform to international standards ISO18000-6C and EPC Global Class 1 Generation 2, for interoperability with different RFID tags on the market.

Its RFID readers need to be placed 5-metre high. The output of radio waves can be remotely controlled so the coverage area can be easily adjusted.

To prevent interference, there is a function to divide radio waves into channels with different frequencies, via FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access) and TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access).

The trial by MHI ended in 2016. We've reached out to TnG and Quatriz for a comment on updates following the successful trial with MHI, but weren't able to get a reply.

As for MHI, the company didn't confirm if it has completely dropped the MLFF project in Malaysia, but said it is "still continuously engaged with the Malaysian market, by providing equipment, including Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) readers, and providing supporting the development of the systems."

MHI also said further tests with various types of vehicles travelling at speeds much higher than the national speed limit of 110 km/h (current high speed test done only with sedans) is required before practical rollout of MLFF using can be done.

The second concern is - and this is the probably the biggest stumbling block stopping Malaysia from achieving true MLFF – the lack of standardized number plates.

Of the 703,420 vehicles that drove past Technology Park Malaysia's trial zone, MHI's automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras could only pick up 92 percent of the number plates - far too low to allow for reliable operation.

Its RFID readers however, picked up all 100 percent of 5,690 transactions.

“In particular, we believe it is necessary to enhance technology for the image recognition of license plates that are even difficult for the human eye to recognize, and to extract problems in controlling unauthorized vehicles and take countermeasures, including the enhancement of the quality of the license plates themselves,” said MHI in its report.

In other words, MHI have encountered many instances involving vehicles with number plates so fancy that it’s difficult for even humans to read, let alone a computer.

Unless Malaysia gets its act together in enforcing standardized vehicle number plate regulations, MLFF is a pipe dream, and MyRFID won’t clear traffic any faster than existing SmartTag.

Trying to push MLFF in a country that can’t even enforce standardized number plates regulations – the most basic of road transport regulations - is like trying to push Ethopia to build a space shuttle. The most basic supporting infrastructure is just not there for the technology to work.

On a related note, users who complain about overloaded lorries being a danger to other road users, and damaging roads will be interested to know that MHI also has a solution for that, and it’s already being used in Japan.

An axle-load-measurement device is installed beneath the tarmac surface, and it measures the weight of a heavy vehicle passing. Overloaded trucks are red flagged to traffic control authorities.