Thursday, June 17, 2021 @ 12:00PM (EDT)
About the Webinar:
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) provide a platform that can carry cameras and sensors for collecting real-time traffic information, especially for corridors under congested conditions, when the traditional loop detectors do not work properly and where there is a lack of other means of traffic monitoring. As an alternative, Road Rangers continuously patrol the roadways monitoring for traffic crashes and stranded motorists and then respond to those incidents. Continuously patrolling along the roadways is costly and man-power consuming. In this study, the researchers will explore the possibilities of replacing the patrolling tasks of Road Rangers with UAVs. The challenging research problems include: (1) development of on-line incident detection methodology with video data from multiple flying UAVs; (2) UAV path planning for corridor incident detection; (3) design and conduct experiments aimed at establishing protocols, standards, and guidance for safely using multiple UAVs for monitoring corridor-wide traffic conditions to complement Part 107 of FAA regulations, as amended. This research requires two phases. This presentation will discuss the first research phase that focus on the design and test of the operations of UAVs for collecting traffic information and development of incident detection methodology. The future second phase will conduct experiments along freeway corridors in Tampa, Florida, and in the Puerto Rico National Highway System (NHS) to verify the protocols, standards and guidance, as well as the methodologies.
About the Presenter:
Benjamín Colucci-Ríos, PhD, PE, PTOE, F.ITE, F.ASCE, PAE, JD
2019 Wilbur S. Smith Distinguished Transportation Educator Award, ITE
UPRM Outstanding Civil Engineering Professor
Dr. Benjamín Colucci-Ríos is a Transportation Engineering Professor of the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Puerto Rico and Indiana, a Fellow of ITE, Professional Traffic Operation Engineer, a Fellow of ASCE, Exalted to the Pan-American Academy of Engineering, former Acting Dean of Engineering, Abertis Chair, Director of the Puerto Rico Transportation Technology Transfer Center, NICR and SaferSIM Researcher of University Transportation Centers. Dr. Colucci-Ríos has been a professor and practitioner in transportation and professional development in national and international projects of interdisciplinary nature for over 4 decades.
Recording
The recording is available on YouTube.
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