CHAPTER 1

Introduction

1.1 Background

Many infrastructure owner-operators (IOOs) are considering the use of autonomous vehicles (AVs) or other autonomous technologies to complete tasks or processes within their organizations. Short-staffed IOOs may find significant benefits in the automation of certain manually performed tasks. Autonomous IOO fleets may have the ability to redress inequities for marginalized communities, create new skills and better jobs, and increase staff productivity. AVs in this context may include autonomous fleet vehicles, transit vehicles or shuttles, mowers or maintenance vehicles, and UAVs, also referred to as drones. Automated applications for the purpose of this report are defined as follows:

1.2 Project Objectives

The objectives of this project were to (1) identify autonomous vehicle and other autonomous technology applications that IOOs are piloting or implementing, (2) determine the status of these applications, and (3) suggest next steps for the advancement of these technologies.

Project tasks entailed the following:

• Conduct a literature review to summarize known implementations of and information on a set of autonomous vehicle technologies and applications that had been identified in the project needs statement,
• Survey agencies to determine the status of the identified technologies,
• Select 12 technologies in consultation with the project panel for further evaluation,
• Conduct interviews to fill in the gaps for five of the applications, and
• Summarize the available information for each technology.

1.3 Autonomous Vehicle Technologies

In general, AVs can drive or perform other tasks with or without human intervention (Arseneau 2018). AV technology provides some, or all of the control traditionally provided by a human operator. The levels of automation for AVs, as defined in Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J3016 by SAE International (formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers) and adopted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA 2017), are shown in Figure 1-1.

1.4 Description of UAVs

Several automated applications examined for this project involve the use of UAVs. As a result, a short description of the technology is provided here.

UAVs are aircraft that carry no human pilot or passengers. They can carry cameras and other sensors that can be used to collect images and other data. Close-range UAVs can operate up to 3 mi, with the longest-ranging drones being able to function beyond 400 mi and up to 3,000 ft in the air. Drones may be flown to access different locations or may be tethered in one location. A tethered drone is attached to a station located on the ground. Advanced tethered drones use special wiring to connect the vehicle to a power source, allowing it to remain in the air for long periods of time (Daley 2022).

UAVs have various levels of autonomy. At the simplest, they are fully controlled by a human pilot or operator on the ground (remote control). The operation of UAVs can also be automated through reliance on a system of sensors and lidar detectors, which calculate movement (Daley 2022).

A survey conducted by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) found that the following 36 state departments of transportation (DOTs) have dedicated staff for the use and implementation of UAVs: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington State, West Virginia, and Wisconsin (AASHTO 2019).

The primary uses of UAVs by transportation and other public agencies include the following (Government Fleet 2019):

• Capturing video and photos of infrastructure projects;
• Surveying;
• Inspecting infrastructure assets such as pavement, bridges, signs, and light poles;

• Assisting with emergency and disaster response; and
• Conducting public education and outreach.

1.5 Overview of Report

This report is organized in the following manner:

• Chapter 2 summarizes how the information included in subsequent sections of the report was gathered.
• Chapter 3 describes and presents the responses from a survey of agencies conducted to identify the state of the practice for the applications selected.
• Chapter 4 describes the use of UAVs for bridge inspection and monitoring.
• Chapter 5 describes the use of UAVs for emergency response, traffic incident detection, and traffic monitoring (Due to many similar features, the three applications are presented in one chapter).
• Chapter 6 describes automated work zone crash attenuation.
• Chapter 7 describes the use of UAVs for emergency condition assessment.
• Chapter 8 describes automation-assisted snowplows.
• Chapter 9 describes autonomous transit.
• Chapter 10 describes autonomous mowers.
• Chapter 11 describes automated garbage collection.
• Chapter 12 describes automated pavement maintenance.
• Chapter 13 describes automated street cleaning.
• Chapter 14 provides a summary of the key findings from the project and suggestions for further activities to help agencies implement autonomous technologies.