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

  • Assessing driver behaviour in work zones
    May 31, 2013
    David Crawford looks at moves to increase throughput and safety in work zones.
    Read More
  • US state of the art workzone safety
    January 25, 2012
    The Texas Transportation Institute's Jerry Ullman talks about the state of the art in work zone safety in the US. Work zones are places where, perhaps more than anywhere else on the road network, mobility and safety are strongly linked. Historically, field crews and contractors wanted vehicles in work zones to be moving as slowly as possible, assuming that made conditions the safest for work crews. We are though starting to see a shift in such thinking with the realisation that excessive delays or slow-down
    Read More
  • Big wheels keep on turnin’
    August 21, 2018
    Many of the great and the good in the global mobility sector gathered at this year’s Movin’ On event in Montreal. Measured regulation of technologies and safety issues were major themes, reports David Arminas. *Bibendum is the original name for the Michelin Man, the symbol of the Michelin tyre company Autonomous vehicles, platooning, smart intersections and safety – these were the talking points over two-and-a-half days of the Movin’ On event in Montreal, Canada. Everyone in the mobility sector is at the
    Read More
  • Deaths of US pedestrians rise sharply, says GHSA report
    April 2, 2019
    Pedestrian deaths across the US have risen to their highest number in nearly 30 years. Many factors are responsible - including the rise and rise of SUVs - according to a worrying new GHSA report ore pedestrians died on US roads last year than in any year since 1990. The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) suggests that 6,227 pedestrians were killed in 2018 – a 4% increase on 2017. Pedestrian deaths as a percentage of total motor vehicle crash deaths increased from 12% in 2008 to 16% in 2017, whi
    Read More

Highlighted Content