The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is considering using drones to keep track of road conditions in order to improve safety for highway construction workers and drivers.
Fifty-six cameras are already being used to monitor traffic in West Michigan.
"MDOT thinks there's a lot of potential in these unmanned aerial vehicles," said Steve Cook, engineer of operations and maintenance for the Michigan Department of Transportation.
MDOT completed an 18-month study on drones. One of the benefits included, quicker collection of data to benefit roadway drivers and workers.
However, public perception of drone-use poses a potential problem for the implementation process. MDOT has anticipated this concern and is developing ways to avoid it.
"You don't want these things to fall out of the sky because it's running out of power; you want to have some kind of system built into it so it knows when it's getting low on battery and just comes back home," Cook said.
To get approval, MDOT would have to follow an application process with the Federal Aviation Administration, as Michigan State Police have done in getting approval to use drones in their investigations.
