Commercial Remote Sensing & Spatial Information (CRS&SI) Technologies
The program is authorized in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) (PL 109-59) § 5506. The program focuses on major national initiatives and validation of CRS&SI technology applications which deliver smarter and more efficient methods, processes and services for transportation infrastructure development, construction and condition assessment. The program provides funding through a competitive basis to individuals/consortia teams of university research entities working in partnership with industry and state agencies.
Focus areas of applied research are chosen based on USDOT priorities for CRS&SI technology applications for user services that have the potential to produce a high return on investment and improve the efficiency and practices of infrastructure development, planning, construction and condition assessment procedures.
Commercial remote sensing products include remote sensing technologies and data from non-contact and above-ground platforms – e.g. satellites, aerial vehicles etc. Spatial information technology products include technologies and data from Geospatial Information Systems, Global Positioning Systems and other related services. The process of infrastructure development, planning, construction and condition assessment is burdened with challenges of collection and interpretation of data, adoption of innovative methods and timely implementation of new technologies. Therefore, in order to ensure safe and efficient movement of people and freight within the national transportation infrastructure system, this program executes projects dedicated to reduce inefficiencies, improve system performance, and assess infrastructure condition through implementation of applied research.
National Consortia on Remote Sensing in Transportation (NCRST)
Various university-based researchers lead a consortium of projects of remote sensing and spatial information technologies to develop products and tools to assist practitioners in their respective disciplines. The following projects have been funded through the CRS&SI program:
Awardees:
- George Mason University (Virginia) - Multimodal Short Sea Freight Shipping System (MSSFS)
- Georgia Tech. Research Corporation - A Remote Sensing and GIS-enabled Asset Management Systems (RS-GAMS)
- Michigan Technological University - Bridge Condition Assessment Using Remote Sensors
- Michigan Technological University - Characterization of Unpaved Road Conditions through Remote Sensing
- Mississippi State University - Streamlining Transportation Corridors Planning Processes and Validating the Application of CRS&SI Technologies for Environmental Impact Assessments
- Missouri University of Science & Technology - Smart Rocks and Wireless Communication Systems for Real-Time Monitoring and Mitigation of Bridge Scour
- Ohio State University - Consortium on Remote Sensing of Freight Flows in Congested Border Crossings and Work Zones
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (New York) - Integrative Freight Demand Management in the New York City Metropolitan Area
- South Dakota State University
- Monitoring of Unpaved Road Condition Using Remote Sensing and Other Technology: Final Report
- Monitoring of Unpaved Road Condition Using Remote Sensing and Other Technology: Manual
- University of Alaska at Fairbanks – Testing & Evaluating Close-Range Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for Monitoring & Automatically Detecting Pavement Conditions & Improve Visual Inspection Procedures
- University of Arizona - Enhancing Monitoring and Planning of Network Infrastructure with Remote Data Collection
- University of California, Santa Barbara - MeTriS: Metropolitan Transportation Information System Applying Space Based Technologies for Freight Congestion Mitigation
- University of Maryland at College Park - Development of a Self-sustained Wireless Integrated Structural Health Monitoring System for Highway Bridges
- University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth - Data Collection via CRS&SI Technology to Determine When to Impose SLR
- University of Massachusetts at Lowell - Multi-Modal Remote Sensing System (MRSS) for Transportation Infrastructure Inspection and Monitoring
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte - Integrated Remote Sensing and Visualization (IRSV) System for Transportation Infrastructure Operations and Management
- University of Virginia - Sinkhole Detection and Bridge/Landslide Monitoring for Transportation Infrastructure by Automated Analysis of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar Images
- Western Research Institute (University of Wyoming)