Peachtree Corners uses LiDAR to increase road safety

Peachtree Corners, a city within metropolitan Atlanta, is using LiDAR technology at a busy intersection to create safer streets and smoother traffic flow for both vehicles and vulnerable road users.

The technology, from Seyond, uses a combination of LiDAR, OmniVidi Perception Service Software Platform and Blue-Band Integrator AI to provide real-time 3D mapping of the area, with both vehicle and pedestrian object detection. The collected data can be used by the city to adjust traffic signals, pedestrian crossing signals, intersection design and more.

The city, partnered with Curiosity Lab and dubbed ‘Silicon Orchard’, claims to be the first US 5G smart city powered by real-world connected infrastructure. It launched the technology over two months ago at its busiest intersection where more than 60,000 vehicles pass daily and has the city’s highest number of accidents.

Brandon Branham, Assistant City Manager and CTO at Peachtree Corners, and Curiosity Lab Executive Director, told Cities Today that the technology has already given some early insights.

“When nearby roadways have major delays, this route is used as an alternative, and we see the number of vehicles increase by thousands within minutes,” he said.

The intersection, a five-lane divided roadway with a posted speed limit of 70km/h, isn’t ideal for cyclists and pedestrians, yet the number of cyclists increases from 20 to 30 during the week to 600 on Saturday and Sunday.

“The jump in cyclists makes a big impact on how the city should adapt the signal timing to help vulnerable road users safely cross a large intersection,” he added. “Seyond’s technology is also giving us data on how many vehicles are actually speeding through the intersection and the vehicle type.”  

The city is seeking to expand the technology to two other intersections on the same corridor with the goal to cover a total of seven intersections with LiDAR.

“This technology will allow us to evaluate if we need to extend crosswalk times for pedestrians to ensure they cross major intersections safely, identify if we need to redesign intersections to be more efficient with higher-volume traffic, adjust traffic signal timing and more,” he said. “With [this] solution, we will be able to see farther, clearer and react faster to transportation and vulnerable road users’ needs across Peachtree Corners.”

Image:Marlon Brathwaite | Dreamstime.com