Many vendors offer roadway sensors either embedded in pavements, non-intrusively within the road, or attached to infrastructure. These sensors gather data and/or communicate with vehicles to aid roadway operations. This effort seeks to understand existing and innovative types of commercially available intrusive and non-intrusive roadway sensors with an analysis of the potential applications, relevance, and drawbacks of each type. This effort considers sensors to be innovative if they are not widely used, either by being new to the transportation sector or not widely used by transportation agencies. Sensors of interest are examined in greater detail, such as identifying the ability of pavement to hold up structurally, operations and maintenance considerations, and placement of the sensors.
For this Phase 1 effort, this ENTERPRISE Pooled Fund Study project identified over 100 innovative sensors through a literature review, web search for industry products, and a survey of DOT practitioners. Identified sensors included those used within the transportation sector and other sectors including the defense, forestry, environmental, warehousing, and port sectors. Analysis of identified sensors included organization by possible use case areas (e.g., road weather, work zones, worker safety, asset condition, parking availability, and bicycle and pedestrian detection) and prioritization based on possible relevance and interest to DOTs. Use cases of data gathered by select, prioritized sensors document available information regarding deployment, operations, and maintenance considerations.