RSG's Eddie Duncan will present at this week's Quiet Drones e-symposium in Paris, France on Tuesday, October 20. The event has been organized by INCE/Europe in association with CidB and with support from the International Institute of Noise Control Engineering.

As drone technology takes off, this first-of-its-kind event gathers acousticians, governments, and industry experts to discuss drone noise issues and solutions. Eddie will present the findings from his paper, “Commercial Delivery Drone Routing: A Case Study of Noise Impacts.” The paper was co-authored by RSG's Ken Kaliski, Isaac Old, Erica Wygonik, and Justin Culp.

Noise will become an increasingly important issue facing communities as more companies begin drone delivery operations. Our latest white paper, “Three Considerations Around Drone Noise and Strategies for Mitigation,” explores some of these issues and offers proactive solutions for policymakers and industry leaders. You can read our white paper here.

RSG Vice President Maren Outwater and Senior Consultant Stephen Tuttle to present today at the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT)’s 35th Annual Fall Planning Conference on the effects of COVID-19 on transportation and planning. As Illinois develops its first-ever Statewide Travel Demand Model, IDOT has used the Phase 1 Model to perform various analyses and simulations. Their presentation will share how big data and the model were used to measure changes in vehicle miles traveled and other travel metrics due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As pandemic-related travel changes vary by person, community, and region, we’re continuing to collect valuable data through our COVID-19 Transportation Insights Panel to help clients better understand and forecast them.

Eno Transportation Weekly (ETW) published an op-ed authored by RSG's Eddie Duncan, Erica Wygonik, and Ken Kaliski on drone noise annoyance and mitigation. Their article, titled “Annoyance and Drones: How Optimizing Flight Paths Can Reduce Potential Noise Impacts,” is based on research and insights presented in our latest white paper on the same topic.

ETW is produced by The Eno Center for Transportation (Eno), a non-profit charitable foundation offering rigorous, objective analyses on the problems facing transportation and providing ideas for, and a clear path toward, possible solutions. For nearly two decades, their ETW publication has been the premier federal transportation policy publication for transportation leaders across the country.

In ITE Journal’s September issue, RSG Director Steven Gayle highlights the importance of public policy in ensuring rural Americans have access to the same technologies and services currently reshaping the transportation industry.

According to the most recent census data, more than 58 million Americans live in rural areas. Ensuring these residents have equitable access to telecommunications services and broadband is a prerequisite to paving the way for future mobility technologies like ride-hailing services, automated and connected vehicles, and drone delivery.

Check out the full article to read more about the path ahead for transportation planning in rural communities and the unique role public policy plays.

On Monday, September 14 from 1-3 p.m. ET, RSG's Ben Stabler and Joel Freedman will help conduct a learning session on ActivitySim. Sponsored by Zephyr, the session will (1) provide updates on ActivitySim project goals, current work program, regional implementation status, and future plan; and (2) include hands-on instruction on downloading, installing, and running ActivitySim, running scenarios, and summarizing and evaluating results.

RSG has been building ActivitySim for over five years for a consortium of Metropolitan Planning Agencies (MPOs). The ActivitySim project is a multi-agency partnership aiming to advance travel demand forecasting practice and cost-effectiveness through shared development of software tools and shared agency experience. ActivitySim has implemented an open source, Python-based version of this activity-based model using best software development practices and popular data science libraries.

The path ahead for drones looks more promising than ever. But as drones take off, noise remains an unresolved issue despite recent research confirming the sound from their operations is uniquely annoying. 

Even with the Integration Pilot Program (IPP), a federal initiative aimed at safely deploying the technology through public-private partnerships, no detailed guidance exists at the federal level to inform drone design or routing with noise in mind. Without a clear regulatory framework, drone flight path modeling offers the greatest promise to commercial drone operators looking to chart a path ahead without jeopardizing the momentum of the moment. 

Want to learn more? Check out our latest white paper that explores three considerations around drone noise and provides a roadmap for how to proactively plan for and mitigate annoyance associated with continuous overhead drone delivery operations.

Data standards empower collaboration and help provide the infrastructure for building community tools. Tune in today from 2-3:30 PM ET for a Panel on Industry Data Standards, hosted by Zephyr and led by RSG Director Ben Stabler.

The discussion will introduce standards such as Open Matrix (OMX), General Model Network Specification (GMNS), Open Street Map (OSM), General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS), and Project Card Standard

As communities begin to open back up, we wanted to learn how the pandemic will shape the “new normal.” So, we launched the COVID-19 Transportation Insights Panel—surveying thousands on their teleworking habits, travel plans, and comfort levels around daily activities.

It’s no surprise that COVID-19 will have lasting effects in all these areas, but it isn’t all what you might expect. Check out some of our surprising initial insights in our first Insight on the panel – RSG’s National Panel Survey Offers Insights Into Travel Behavior Changes Caused by COVID-19.

Agencies interested in participating or those interested in data specific to their region can learn more about the survey on our COVID-19 Transportation Insights Panel page.

After his article and recent presentation on the subject, RSG Director Jonathan Slason was invited by Vermont Public Radio (VPR) to join their conversation on telecommuting and working from home after the pandemic. Is remote work here to stay? If it does, what impact will it have on traffic patterns? 

Tune in to Vermont Edition today (May 13) around 1:20 p.m. to hear more.

Evaluating complex systems to forecast future conditions has never been simple, but disruptive technological changes and outside shocks to the system (like the COVID-19 pandemic) have further challenged practitioners. Strategic models can help.  

Strategic models occupy a unique niche and can flexibly and quickly run hundreds of scenarios, making them ideal for exploring uncertainty in the planning process. These models offer practitioners at state, regional, or local levels capabilities that are normally inaccessible or only possible with significant effort, investment, and expertise. 

Want to learn more? Check out our latest white paper on how strategic models excel as a stand-alone tool or as a complement to other types of modeling.