Drone-Based Traffic Surveillance

Drone deployment has become crucial in a variety of applications, including solutions to traffic issues in metropolitan areas and highways. On the other hand, data collected via drones suffers from several problems, including a wide range of object scales, angle variations, truncation, and occlusion. Rapid urbanization and the continuous growth of vehicle population have placed immense pressure on existing traffic management systems. Conventional traffic surveillance methods, such as fixed cameras, loop detectors, and manual monitoring, often suffer from limited coverage, high infrastructure costs, and lack of real-time adaptability. Therefore, this project proposes a drone-based traffic surveillance system operates through the coordinated functioning of power, sensing, control, communication, and actuation modules. The system is powered by a 3.7V Li-ion/Li-Po battery, which supplies energy to all onboard components through a battery protection and charging circuit to ensure safe and stable operation. The flight controller acts as the central processing unit, receiving real-time data from sensors such as the gyroscope and accelerometer to maintain flight stability, orientation, and balance. Front and bottom cameras capture aerial and ground-level traffic footage, which can be switched using the camera switching module depending on surveillance requirements. The optical flow sensor assists in position holding and low-altitude navigation. User commands are transmitted via a 2.4 GHz transmitter and receiver, enabling remote control and mission updates. Based on sensor inputs and control commands, the flight controller generates appropriate signals to the motor driver, which regulates the speed of the coreless DC motors for precise manoeuvring. Additionally, the LED lighting module enhances visibility during low-light or night-time operations. Through this integrated workflow, the drone efficiently captures real-time traffic data while maintaining stable and controlled flight.