Vexcel Launches Roadway Attributes for 3,300+ Cities Across U.S.

• New automated roadway inventory and condition ratings help transportation planners make roadways safer
• More than 30 attributes available to identify, map, and inventory roadway infrastructure and pavement markings

CENTENNIAL, CO., Feb 11, 2024: Leveraging its high-resolution aerial imagery library, Vexcel today announced AI-derived insights on roadway infrastructure and pavement markings for 3,389 cities in the United States. The new product — Elements: Roadways — provides more than 30 attributes to help inventory roadway features, support safety and compliance regulations, and improve maintenance planning.

Roadways is the newest addition to Elements, a product suite of attributes extracted from Vexcel’s aerial imagery and geospatial data using AI and machine learning (ML). “We’ve already been offering our partners and customers AI-derived attributes for more than 100 million properties and buildings in the U.S., as well as 30 other countries,” said Erik Jorgensen, CEO of Vexcel Group. “Now, Roadways brings our imagery and AI expertise to the streets, empowering transportation planners and engineers to automate inventory management and assess the current condition of pavement markings.”

Automated Roadway Attributes Available with Frequent Updates

Roadways focuses on two types of non-highway road data: infrastructure and pavement markings. With infrastructure, key features are mapped and identified within the city such as curb mats, pedestrian islands, and roundabouts. With pavement markings, key features and condition ratings are provided for symbols, arrows, text, stop bars, crosswalks, and bicycle lanes.

Vexcel’s highly accurate aerial imagery is refreshed up to three times annually in the cities where Roadways data is processed, helping agencies update road data more frequently at a lower cost.

Sample datasets of Roadways information were provided to civil engineering firms, like DKS Associates, who collaborated with Department of Transportation (DOT) teams to evaluate and inventory roadway infrastructure.

“Maintaining up-to-date transportation system inventory data is challenging for many DOTs that use traditional field and desktop methods. For our statewide multimodal system inventory project in Oregon, we teamed with Vexcel to leverage their AI and machine learning advancements to deliver data, saving substantial time and money. Their ability to use ML to derive the data we need from high-resolution aerial imagery helps us to rapidly collect the road element data for motor vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle systems in all 48 urban jurisdictions in the state.” said Carl Springer, Chief Data Storyteller at DKS Associates.

In addition, Roadways data helps agencies triage projects faster, identify problem areas, and get a holistic picture of what exists on roads. Named features in the dataset are also up to date with the latest U.S. Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) recently updated in December 2023, 11^th edition. The dataset helps audit for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance and assists with federal grant programs like Safe Streets for All (SS4A) in mapping and condition status for pedestrian/bicycle markings for vulnerable road users.

“Crosswalk and stop line markings, bike symbols and text, and well-maintained colored pavements are important elements of vulnerable road user (VRU) safety. Our organization is excited to work with Vexcel’s high-res imagery and AI-derived VRU features to inventory and identify current condition and better predict product lifecycle and refresh schedules,” said Robert Dingess, President of the Traffic Marking Manufacturers Alliance (TMMA). “Automated insights like these will be super valuable to TMMA members and their customers to help understand individual product performance and prioritize pavement marking maintenance to improve roadway safety.”

Roadways datasets will be delivered with corresponding aerial imagery and optimized for use in common GIS and planning software. To learn more about Roadways, including a full list of attributes, visit vexceldata.com/roadways.

About Vexcel Data Program

For over 30 years, Vexcel has been the industry leader in the photogrammetric and remote sensing space, building market-leading UltraCam sensors, and providing a comprehensive library of cloud-based geospatial data. The Vexcel Data Program is the largest aerial imagery program in the world, collecting high-resolution imagery and geospatial data in 30+ countries. Its dedicated fleet of fixed-wing aircraft captures imagery in the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and across Western Europe. Vexcel’s unique technology stack results in unmatched accuracy and consistency across its aerial collection programs. Its comprehensive aerial data library helps customers streamline remote assessment, innovate common workflows, and enhance decision-making with confidence. More at: vexceldata.com