Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT)

Overview

In April 2026, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) selected Ouster BlueCity for major traffic signal management and road safety deployments across more than 30 additional intersections in Atlanta and the surrounding area, including intersections around the downtown Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The initiative is a collaborative effort between GDOT and Ouster BlueCity partner Southern Lighting & Traffic Systems to modernize the region's traffic infrastructure.

The expansion follows an initial deployment of Ouster BlueCity at six intersections in downtown Atlanta, along a high-traffic, high-pedestrian corridor near the Georgia World Congress Center. As one of the largest and fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States, Atlanta is prioritizing data-driven solutions to manage increasing traffic density and protect vulnerable road users.

The Challenge & Opportunity

For many cities, rapidly aging traffic infrastructure still relies on legacy detection technology such as in-road inductive loops and 2D cameras. These systems were never designed for today's high-density, multimodal roadways: inductive loops detect only vehicles directly over the buried sensor and cannot classify road users, while cameras lack true depth awareness and lose accuracy in shadow, glare, low light, and poor weather.

A global event such as the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup sharpens these challenges. Large events concentrate high volumes of vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists into specific corridors over compressed time windows, demanding infrastructure that can manage the surge efficiently while protecting vulnerable road users.

With the soccer tournament as a backdrop for innovation, GDOT looked to Ouster BlueCity to help optimize traffic flow, improve safety and provide real-time alerts - all in one complete system and with just two sensors per intersection. This approach reduces infrastructure footprint by doing the job of multiple cameras, radars, and inductive loops.

The Solution

GDOT is deploying Ouster BlueCity, a turnkey solution that combines Ouster's 3D digital lidar sensors with proprietary AI perception software to create a real-time 3D digital twin of each intersection. The system reliably detects, classifies, and tracks vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists in all weather and lighting conditions, and integrates directly into GDOT's traffic controllers to support traffic signal management and respond to vulnerable road user safety events.

Because Ouster BlueCity works from accurate 3D spatial data rather than 2D images or buried loops, it captures the precise location, speed, and trajectory of every road user across the full intersection and feeds that intelligence directly into both the signal controller and connected-vehicle applications.

Through the Ouster BlueCity deployment, GDOT can:

• Optimize traffic flow: Improve real-time traffic signal actuation to reduce congestion and idle times.

• Improve safety: Detect, classify, and track different types of vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists for advanced safety features, even in diverse environmental and lighting conditions.

• Provide real-time alerts: Deploy proactive, real-time vehicle-to-everything (V2X) safety alerts for connected vehicles via onboard units.

Executive Perspective

Deployment at a Glance

Ouster BlueCity is a complete lidar traffic management solution that combines Ouster lidar with proprietary AI detection software to deliver signal actuation, real-time safety alerts across intersections, corridors and highways. The same deployment provides a 24/7 analytics data stream, offering traffic operators and city planners high-quality insights into their public corridors.

• Scale: 30+ additional intersections in and around Atlanta (following an initial 6-intersection deployment), including intersections near Mercedes-Benz Stadium

• Primary Applications: Multimodal actuation, vulnerable road user (VRU) safety, V2X communication

• Integration: Integrated directly with GDOT's traffic controllers and on-board units for V2X safety alerts

• Partners: Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT); Southern Lighting & Traffic Systems (Ouster BlueCity partner)

The deployment reflects the continued and accelerating adoption of Ouster BlueCity by agencies and municipalities nationwide, including large-scale deployments of 100+ intersections each in Utah and in Chattanooga and Nashville, Tennessee, part of over 700 contracted Ouster BlueCity site deployments across intersections, mid-blocks, and highways.

Learn More

To learn more, visit ouster.com/bluecity or contact our team.