The Potential of Using Drone Affiliated Technologies for Various Types of Traffic and Driver Behavior Studies

Many types of traffic studies require collecting field data, from traditional intersection turning movement count, travel time, queue length, and approach delay, to more detailed data in support of advanced studies like traffic conflicts, origin-destination volumes and travel times, and vehicle trajectories, etc. Many technologies are available, cost, accuracy, data collection frequency and duration, and ease of data maintenance are driving factors in selecting appropriate technologies to fulfill the needs of specific traffic studies. Aerial survey for traffic data collection can monitor a large area with few equipment and has been proven a viable approach. In recent years, drone based traffic data collection becomes increasingly popular due to its lower cost, clearer imagery, and larger field of view than ground based approach. This paper reviews the field data collection methods used in FHWA intersection field evaluation projects that involved collecting traffic data at various sized intersections. The technologies used evolved from the traditional on the ground technologies, to helicopter based aerial surveys, and drone based aerial surveys. Comparing to traditional on the ground approaches, aerial survey offers the advantages of less personnel, larger coverage area, no disruption to traffic flow, and often lower cost. The authors will discuss the potentials of drones in various types of traffic and driver behavior studies and its limitations.