Application of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in Traffic Flow Monitoring

Abstract

 Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly applied in traffic flow monitoring due to their mobility, wide-area coverage, and cost-effectiveness. Compared with traditional fixed sensors, UAVs enable real-time, multi-dimensional traffic data collection and violation detection. This study reviews UAV-based traffic monitoring technologies, including vehicle detection algorithms (inter-frame difference, background difference, and template matching) and tracking methods (generative and discriminative approaches). Case studies from China, France, the UK, and the USA demonstrate practical applications in congestion management and traffic law enforcement. Key challenges such as environmental adaptability, endurance, and real-time algorithm performance are also discussed.