Aerial Traffic

This report documents a significant advancement in work-zone safety through the strategic integration of aerial drone technology and machine vision software. It summarizes the project’s phases: Technical Assessment and Procurement, System Integration and Validation, and Deployment Assessment. The Technical Assessment and Procurement phase led to the selection of Smartek ITS’s DataFromSky product for its unique real-time processing capabilities of aerial drone video, making it superior to other commercial offerings. The System Integration and Validation phase ensured that the video streams, whether real-time or recorded, were processed effectively for varying roadway scenarios, including work zones and intersection monitoring. Accompanying development work included a user-defined data interface with the capability to trigger intruding vehicle alarms. The Deployment Assessment phase confirmed the system’s precision, with object detection up to 150 meters and sub-500 millisecond latency in relaying data for real-time alerts. Despite some GPS data discrepancies due to wind-induced drone movements, the system showed promise in controlled and real-world environments. Overall, the project acquired and validated the system’s functionality, with successful tests on live and recorded video feeds, software video processing, and real-time data transmission, culminating in the development of a robust intruding vehicle alarm mechanism. The system demonstrated great potential for deployment across various Virginia Tech Transportation Institute research initiatives, setting a precedent for future work in enhancing work zone safety.