The 33 Smart Mobility Corridor is getting even smarter under recently announced plans to study the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), sometimes called drones, to monitor traffic and roadway conditions from the air along the corridor. The three-year study is a partnership between DriveOhio’s UAS Center and The Ohio State University College of Engineering.

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This research will include both air and ground vehicles and will complement ongoing work to test autonomous and connected vehicles along the 33 Smart Mobility Corridor. Unmanned aircraft will monitor traffic and incident response along the corridor in conjunction with the state’s current fixed-location traffic camera system. The aircraft will interact with sensors and communication equipment along the corridor to feed data into the state’s Traffic Management Center.

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The project will also use sensors and communication devices to ensure the unmanned aircraft will not collide with each other or with manned aircraft, such as small planes and helicopters, that also use the lower altitude airspace. It is estimated that as many as 5,000-manned aircraft are in the sky at any given time.

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The project team will be led by DriveOhio and The Ohio State University’s College of Engineering in conjunction with Cal Analytics, Gannett Fleming, AiRXOS (a GE venture), Gryphon Sensors, Transportation Research Center, Inc., Woolpert, The Ohio State University Airport, and Midwest Air Traffic Control. The 3-year research project is set to begin July 1, 2018.

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Original DriveOhio Press Release 

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