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Ouster awarded $2m Chattanooga Lidar contract

BlueCity solution will be deployed at 120 intersections in US city
By Adam Hill January 15, 2025 Read time: 2 mins
BlueCity Ouster Chattanooga downtown (image: Business Wire)
Ouster BlueCity deployed in Chattanooga, TN (image: Business Wire)

Ouster’s BlueCity Lidar solution is to be deployed at more than 120 intersections covering downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The $2 million contract is with the City of Chattanooga and follows a successful pilot at 12 intersections.

It is the largest deployment of Lidar detection technology for traffic and pedestrian safety in the US, Ouster says.

Digital Lidar sensors and edge AI will be installed at each intersection to manage traffic flow, detect and analyse safety incidents and provide detection for Vehicle to Everything (V2X) communications.

“Chattanooga is leading the country in adopting smart city technology to improve our roadways, and with it, the safety and quality of life of our citizens,” said Chattanooga mayor Tim Kelly.

“This technology will enable optimised traffic signal management on roads and intersections to improve traffic flow and provide data we can use to improve pedestrian safety."

BlueCity generates an analytics data stream designed to give traffic operators and city planners high quality insights about roads and road users - including motor vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists - which can be used for timely safety interventions as well as long-term planning.

The solution combines digital Lidar with perception software and data analytics, enabling the creation of a real-time 3D digital traffic twin, and automates data collection in the cloud. Use cases include near-miss detection, outside-of-crosswalk events, red-light running and wrong-way driving.

Chattanooga is working with Southern Lighting & Traffic Systems and the Center for Urban Informatics & Progress (CUIP), part of the University of Tennessee Chattanooga Research Institute, to expand the city's Lidar-connected traffic infrastructure by the end of 2025.

Mina Sartipi, founding director of CUIP and a professor at the university, says: “Ouster BlueCity already led us to install a crosswalk that resulted in a 100% reduction in near-miss incidents on a high-risk city block. We are just starting to capture the full benefits of this technology.”

Asad Lesani, VP of smart infrastructure products at Ouster, says: “Every accident we can help prevent and every hour of transit time saved with advanced digital Lidar detection is a win. Ouster BlueCity already yields invaluable results, and we look forward to rapidly expanding its adoption.”

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