DriveOhio to monitor traffic and road incidents with drones

DriveOhio will use unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to understand how to manage traffic, roadway incidents and roadway conditions along the 33 Smart Mobility Corridor from 1 July. The three-year project, valued $5.9m, is intended to complement autonomous and connected vehicle tests along the 35-mile stretch between Dublin and East Liberty.
June 8, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
DriveOhio will use unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to understand how to manage traffic, roadway incidents and roadway conditions along the 33 Smart Mobility Corridor from 1 July. The three-year project, valued $5.9m, is intended to complement autonomous and connected vehicle tests along the 35-mile stretch between Dublin and East Liberty.


This study stems from a partnership between DriveOhio’s UAS Center and the Ohio State University College of Engineering.

The research will be carried out by air and ground vehicles while the drones will monitor traffic and incident response along with the state's fixed-location traffic camera system. The UAS will interact with sensors and communication equipment to feed data into the state’s traffic management centre.

Additionally, the initiative will use sensors and communication devices to ensure unmanned aircraft will not collide with each other or with small planes and helicopters.

Fred Judson, director of DriveOhio’s UAS Center, says: “This research project will make the development of that safety system a priority so that other aircraft operations such as package delivery and air taxi services can be explored down the road.”

Other members involved in the project include Cal Analytics, Gannett Fleming, Airxos, Gryphon Sensors, Transportation Research Center, Woolpert, the Ohio State University Airport and Midwest Air Traffic Control.

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • TRL to contribute to new autonomous vehicle research programme
    October 23, 2015
    The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) the, has announced it is part of a new US$17 million five-year research programme to develop fully autonomous cars. The programme, jointly funded by Jaguar Land Rover and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), will look at some key technologies and questions that need to be addressed before driverless cars can be allowed on the roads without jeopardising the safety of other road users, including cyclists and pedestrians. TRL is the on
    Read More
  • Siemens: self-driving minibuses are the future of first-/last-mile
    February 26, 2020
    Markus Schlitt, CEO of intelligent traffic systems at Siemens Mobility, talks to ITS International about safety and why it is important for cities to offer additional shared and connected transit options.
    Read More
  • Peachtree Corners makes traffic updates public
    January 7, 2021
    Screens will generate traffic data as part of initiative with Georgia Institute of Technology
    Read More
  • UWA trials EasyMile's autonomous bus on campus
    August 14, 2018
    Visitors at the University of Western Australia (UWA) can now travel around the campus on an EasyMile autonomous bus. The partnership has launched a nine-day project to assess the possibility of using this type of technology as an on-site sustainable transport link. The bus will travel at 5Kmh with a trained observer onboard who will oversee the technology and answer questions. The vehicle can carry up to 14 passengers and uses telecommunication company Telstra's mobile network for navigation. Membe
    Read More

Highlighted Content