State and federal transportation agencies are embracing geospatial technology to modernize infrastructure management, improve safety, and optimize long-term planning. This session highlights how lidar, UAS, AI, and standardized geospatial workflows are transforming the way agencies collect, manage, and apply transportation data at scale.
Presentations will showcase advancements in automated asset inventories, statewide drone program development, and national efforts to standardize surveying and mapping practices. Attendees will learn how transportation departments are integrating mobile lidar, cloud-based collaboration tools, and data governance frameworks to enhance efficiency and accuracy from the field to the office.
Together, these case studies demonstrate how next-generation geospatial technologies and data standards are driving a more connected, precise, and intelligent future for transportation infrastructure management.
The following presentations will be shared in this session:
Michael Baker’s Approach to Modernizing Sign inventories: Scalable Digital Survey Workflows with Mach9
Presented by Aaron Morris, Michael Baker International and Alexander Baikovitz, Mach9
State DOTs are responsible for maintaining vast and complex roadway networks, where accurate asset inventories are essential for safety, compliance, and long-term capital planning. In this session, Michael Baker International and Mach9 will share how they’re collaborating to automate sign data collection, streamline QA, and deliver geospatially accurate, decision-ready datasets for one of the country’s largest transportation agencies.
This case study will highlight how mobile lidar and AI-powered feature extraction replaced traditional manual workflows, enabling the extraction of tens of thousands of signage assets with engineering-grade accuracy, and without jumping across multiple disconnected systems. Attendees will learn how cloud-based validation, scalable automation, and real-time collaboration tools are transforming the way state and municipal agencies approach asset inventories at scale.
A New UAS Data Management Ecosystem
Presented by Sinan Abood, MassDOT Aeronautics Division
This presentation will detail the evolution and operational framework of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Drone Program, established in 2017. The program strategically integrates Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) technology to enhance transportation infrastructure management across multiple sectors, including emergency response, aeronautics, highways, and rail. A core objective has been the secure and efficient capture, processing, dissemination, and transformation of aerial data into actionable intelligence.
The session will outline the complete MassDOT UAS project lifecycle, including training protocols, operational methodologies, and the implementation of the Aeronautics Data Hub. It will also address common operational challenges and share best practices for UAS data collection, processing, and distribution. The MassDOT Aeronautics Division ultimately offers a scalable and replicable model for other Departments of Transportation seeking to modernize infrastructure assessment and data management through advanced UAS integration.
Bridging Innovation and Infrastructure: Standardizing Geospatial Data for Smarter Transportation Projects
Presented by Michael Olsen, Oregon State University
This presentation introduces a national effort—led by Oregon State University and funded by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) through NCHRP Project 08-174—to develop a Surveying and Mapping Guide for Transportation Projects that addresses long-standing challenges in geospatial data consistency and integration. Currently, the lack of standardized surveying and mapping practices across transportation agencies leads to inefficiencies, miscommunication, and errors across the infrastructure lifecycle. This Guide is being designed to modernize geospatial workflows by aligning with key federal initiatives such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the modernization of the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS). It also incorporates critical changes such as the deprecation of the U.S. Survey Foot, which will impact how data is managed and interpreted across systems.
For technology professionals, this Guide presents a significant step toward standardized, interoperable geospatial data that supports open data formats, cross-platform integration, and greater automation in design and construction workflows. It outlines clear positional accuracy requirements and promotes consistent terminology and metadata practices, making geospatial data more reusable, reliable, and compatible with advanced technologies such as BIM, digital twins, and asset performance modeling. Importantly, the Guide includes a methodology to evaluate the Return on Investment (ROI) of adopting the modernized NSRS, helping agencies and technology partners quantify the long-term value of precision and standardization. Developed by a multidisciplinary team from Oregon State University, Penn State University, Washington State University, and MPN Components, this initiative aims to create a geospatial data foundation that enables smarter, more connected, and more cost-effective infrastructure delivery.
