• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Logo

Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse

Library of Resources to Improve Roadway Work Zone Safety for All Roadway Users

  • About
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
  • X
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Work Zone Data
    • At a Glance
    • National & State Traffic Data
    • Work Zone Traffic Crash Trends and Statistics
    • Worker Fatalities and Injuries at Road Construction Sites
  • Topics of Interest
    • Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety
    • Smart Work Zones
    • Work Zone Safety and MobilityTransportation Management Plans
    • Accommodating Pedestrians
    • Worker Safety and Welfare
    • Project Coordination in Work Zones
  • Training
    • Flagger
    • Online Courses
    • Toolboxes
    • FHWA Safety Grant Products
    • Certification and
      Accreditation
  • Work Zone Devices
  • Laws, Standards & Policies
  • Public Awareness
  • Events
  • About
  • Contact
  • Search
Publication

Simulation of Roadside LiDAR Applications: A Smart Work Zone Case Study

Author/Presenter: Wu, Dayong; Darwesh, Amir; Le, Minh; Saripalli, Srikanth
Abstract:

Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) have the capability to detect 360-degree surrounding objects with high accuracy (centimeter level), high frequency (a tenth of a second), and long measuring distance (up to 750 feet radius or longer for a 128-channel LiDAR with the highest resolution). Currently, high-resolution LiDAR has been primarily used in autonomous vehicles because of its cost; but more and more roadside applications with entry-level LiDAR can now be found in the field. The deployment of LiDAR sensors along a road network can provide high-resolution micro data of all traffic, which will significantly change the current connected vehicle deployment and other traffic engineering applications. However, developing and testing roadside LiDAR applications and traffic scenarios in the real world requires significant time, resources and expense, and can present high risks in dangerous applications such as work zone scenarios. This study focuses on using a 3D virtual environment to enable testing of roadside LiDAR applications and hence significantly reduces the amount of required road tests in the real-world. The simulation is based on a co-simulation framework for modeling and visualizing driving algorithms in MATLAB/Simulink® in a rich simulation environment powered by Unreal Engine®. The results from a smart work zone (SWZ) case study clearly shows the developed simulation framework can facilitate the development of perception and control algorithms, verify the system’s functionality, and improve robustness at the system level.

Source: Transportation Research Board 101st Annual Meeting
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
Publication Date: January 2022
Source URL: Link to URL
Publication Types: Books, Reports, Papers, and Research Articles
Topics: Detection and Identification Systems; Radar; Traffic Simulation; Virtual Reality; Work Zones

Copyright © 2025 American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). The National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse is a project of the ARTBA Transportation Development Foundation. It is operated in cooperation with the U.S. Federal Highway Administration and Texas A&M Transportation Institute. | Copyright Statement · Privacy Policy · Disclaimer
American Road and Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation, American Road and Transportation Builders Association U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Texas A&M Transportation Institute