The time to understand traffic on a UK road can now stretch across 50 kilometres using a single monitoring point. TAMDATA, a distributed fibre optic sensing technology, transforms roads into intelligent sensors capturing vehicle movements in real time.
How TAMDATA reads the road
TAMDATA uses vibrations caused by moving vehicles, detected through a fibre optic cable laid along or within the road surface. These vibrations register as signals interpreted by software using artificial intelligence and machine learning. The system tracks vehicle speed, traffic volumes, braking and acceleration patterns, spacing between vehicles, and driving behaviours such as wrong-way travel.
It can also identify traffic jams and incidents, reconstruct past events, and provide continuous monitoring beyond individual points. This approach offers a more complete picture of traffic flow along entire road sections compared to traditional sensors.
Two practical uses on UK roads
DELTABLOC UK will demonstrate TAMDATA’s applications for both temporary and permanent use at Highways UK 2026, held 14-15 October at the NEC Birmingham.
TAMDATA Roads supports monitoring during roadworks by attaching sensing cables to work zone barriers or running them along the carriageway surface. This supplies live data on vehicle movements, queues and incidents to improve safety and operator awareness in temporary traffic management.
For permanent use, the fibre optic cable can be embedded into new surfacing or retrofitted into existing carriageways. It delivers ongoing data on flow, speed, and incidents via a dedicated dashboard or API that integrates with traffic management systems.
The system requires only one central power source and a single internet connection per road section, reducing infrastructure complexity in long-distance monitoring on busy roads such as the M1 or A-roads.
Extending monitoring beyond the roadside
TAMDATA Perimeters applies the same sensing technology to define and monitor infrastructure boundaries.
This broadens the scope beyond traffic data to protecting critical zones like depots, maintenance compounds or sensitive sites adjacent to road networks. Visitors to Highways UK can explore this alternative use alongside the roads monitoring application.
What it means for UK highways projects
The continuous and detailed data from TAMDATA enables councils, contractors and traffic operators to manage networks proactively. Detection of incidents or congestion along long road sections helps target responses promptly. Temporary traffic management becomes safer with real-time awareness of emerging queues and risky behaviours.
Reducing the need for multiple monitoring points cuts installation and maintenance costs, while integration with existing systems supports efficient network management.
Meet the team at NEC Birmingham
DELTABLOC UK will exhibit TAMDATA at stand H45. The team will discuss how this fibre optic sensing technology can be deployed on UK roads in compliance with Traffic Management Act and NRSWA requirements.
Visitors can collect updated TAMDATA brochures covering roads and perimeter monitoring applications and see how continuous intelligent monitoring can support safer, smarter highways across Britain.
