Derq launches V2X safety project in Detroit

Derq has launched two vehicle to everything (V2X) applications in downtown Detroit to predict and prevent traffic crashes. The technology company collaborated with Flir Systems to communicate threats in real-time to drivers at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street intersection. Derq's software monitored vehicle-to-infrastructure and vehicle-to-pedestrian interactions. The firm uses patented artificial intelligence algorithms to create a two-second warning for drivers. Flir Systems'
June 7, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Derq has launched two vehicle to everything (V2X) applications in downtown Detroit to predict and prevent traffic crashes. The technology company collaborated with 6778 Flir Systems to communicate threats in real-time to drivers at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street intersection.


Derq's software monitored vehicle-to-infrastructure and vehicle-to-pedestrian interactions. The firm uses patented artificial intelligence algorithms to create a two-second warning for drivers.

Flir Systems' thermal imaging and combined visible/radar sensors were installed on the intersection to allow Derq to run its software applications and generate predictions.

The project is part of the 1688 Michigan Department of Transportation and 8439 PlanetM's Startup Grant pilot. The state's business development division for mobility is offering up to $1m in grants to startups looking to test transportation ideas in Michigan.

Dr. Georges Aoude, Derq’s CEO and co-founder, says the intersection is one of the most challenging areas for pedestrians and cars in the city.

“It’s a complex intersection connecting major roads and highways, as well as the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel,” Aoude adds.

Derq is exhibiting the technology at the ITS America Conference in Detroit.

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New York pedestrian safety plans launched
    February 27, 2015
    New York Department of Transportation (DOT), in partnership with the New York Police Department (NYPD), has launched Borough Pedestrian Safety Action Plans for each of the five boroughs in the city. The plans are one of 63 Vision Zero initiatives aimed at eliminating all deaths from traffic crashes, regardless of whether on foot, bicycle, or inside a motor vehicle. Despite aggressive pedestrian-oriented street re-engineering between 2007 and 2013, citywide pedestrian fatalities have not declined. In fact, t
    Read More
  • Keeping a weather eye on road conditions
    September 26, 2014
    Drive C2X has shown that advanced warning of poor road conditions could cut fatalities, as David Crawford explains. Connected vehicle (CV)-based warning technologies could mean 6% fewer deaths and 5% fewer injuries in road traffic accidents in Europe, according to the final results of the European Commission (EC) co-funded DRIVE C2X project. According to the European Centre for Information and Communication Technologies (EICT) which provided management support, these “prove that CV systems work and can hav
    Read More
  • Car to car communications a step closer
    December 14, 2012
    Vehicle manufacturers have targeted 2015 for the first cars to roll off European assembly lines fitted with operational V2X technology. They and their partners in the Car 2 Car Communications Consortium are confident of meeting the target, reports Jon Masters. Around three years from now vehicles should be appearing in showrooms boasting the capability of communicating with each other. Manufacturers will have started fitting the first proprietary car-to-car driver-aid safety devices and deployment of ‘vehic
    Read More
  • Programming a smoother commute
    January 18, 2013
    Work being carried out by the University of Toronto’s Intelligent Transportation Systems Centre could have a beneficial effect on the city’s congestion problems. Says Professor Baher Abdulhai of the Centre, "Everybody realises that we have a big congestion problem in Toronto and the scarier part is that it's getting worse, exponentially." One of the solutions he's working on is smarter traffic lights using artificial intelligence to control the flow of traffic. "Each traffic light would learn how to time i
    Read More

Highlighted Content