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(intro music)

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- [Narrator] TxDOT is using
unmanned aircraft vehicles

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for an ever increasing
number of applications.

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The data captured by
these systems saves time,

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provides a much broader
picture of the surroundings

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and can sometimes go where man cannot.

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But based on external
conditions like wind, rain,

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mist, smoke and lighting,

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the data collected by these
vehicles could be compromised.

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- When you think about weather conditions,

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there's a lot to it.

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There is lighting.

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There is turbulence due to the air

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and the buffeting of the aircraft.

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And so there's a flying considerations.

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But there are also considerations

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on how suboptimal weather
conditions affect the data

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that you're collecting.

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- These devices are increasingly used for

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a variety of applications.

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You name it,

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bridge inspections,
construction monitoring

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and even traffic incident management,

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and this was one of the areas

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that TxDOT was interested in exploring.

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- That allowed us to evaluate
how the UAS is operating

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and how the data is being collected

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in suboptimal conditions.

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Because most accidents,
as you would imagine,

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happen when it's dark or dusk or at night,

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and when it's rainy,

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in conditions that are suboptimal.

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So it was a real good
fit for this research

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for us to focus on that application.

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And then we can interpret the results

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to all the different things
what we'd like to use a UAV for.

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- With our colleagues at
Texas A&M Corpus Christi,

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we conducted computer simulations
that mimicked the impact

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of a variety of environmental conditions,

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lighting, for example.

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So we had morning, noon,
afternoon, dusk, night.

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But we also simulated the
effect of built in LEDs

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and also supplemental lighting.

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Foggy conditions from
three mile visibility,

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which is basically no fog,

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all the way down to 50 meters, 160 feet.

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And then we processed all
of that through software,

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you know, photogrammetry software,

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and looked at the impact.

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- Most of it is just still pictures.

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And the software we use,

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it creates a 3D model.

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So we can combine a whole
bunch of different pictures

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into one model.

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And the big benefit is that

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you don't really need to have a surveyor

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out on the crash site anymore.

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- We came up with a series
of tangible recommendations

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for the department.

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The first recommendation
was to establish a program

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to use UAS-based platforms

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to support traffic incident
management activities,

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including crash reconstructions.

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- This particular research
done by A&M was just stellar.

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They did a perfect job.

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And so they gave us tons of data back

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and really defined when
it makes sense to use UAV

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in these conditions.

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- [Narrator] For more information,

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and to find the publications
for this project,

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please visit the TxDOT Research Library

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at the link shown below.