Enhancing Roadway Safety: Deploying Pi-lit® Impact Detection Technology
At The Ray, we are moving beyond research to deploy real-time technology that makes transportation systems more responsive, durable, and safe. One of our most impactful collaborations is with Pi-lit®, a leader in roadway safety solutions with 13 years of experience developing US-made products. Together, we are converting passive highway hardware into a Roadway Ground Truth platform that alerts agencies to incidents in real time.
The Challenge: Silent Infrastructure
Safety hardware such as guardrails, crash cushions, and cable barriers is critical for protecting drivers in crashes. However, maintaining these assets across thousands of miles is a massive operational challenge. Historically, there has been no formal reporting mechanism for the status of these assets; DOTs often wouldn't know a barrier was damaged until a manual inspection or a third-party report. This lack of visibility can lead to dangerous situations in which a previously damaged crash cushion fails to provide adequate protection during a subsequent incident.
The Solution: Pi-lit® Impact Detection System (IDS™)
To bridge this information gap, The Ray partnered with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to deploy the Pi-lit® Impact Detection System (IDS™).
How it Works: The IDS™ consists of smart, cellular-connected sensors that mount directly onto critical signage, guardrails, and cable barriers.
Real-Time Alerts: Within 60 seconds of a vehicle impact, the system sends automated SMS and email alerts to maintenance crews.
Precision Data: These alerts provide the exact location and time of unreported hits, ensuring critical hardware is repaired immediately.
Smart Features: The sensors even record their initial orientation; if a sign falls over due to an impact, the system alerts the team that the sign is no longer providing vital information to motorists.
Impact on The Ray Highway and Beyond
Following a successful one-year pilot, GDOT is expanding the Pi-lit® system across Metro Atlanta, North Georgia, and the Georgia Coast. This expansion helps GDOT investigate how smart guardrails can enhance safety on winding roads, congested corridors, and coastal highways.
Beyond immediate safety, the partnership provides several operational benefits:
Reduced Response Times: Maintenance and emergency response teams can be mobilized faster, often integrated with CCTV cameras to enhance situational awareness.
Revenue Recovery: By documenting the exact time of impact, agencies can better identify responsible parties and recover costs for damaged infrastructure—up to $15,000 per event.
Post-Storm Assessment: The sensors are even being used to help GDOT assess roadway debris after severe storms by detecting impacts on or near the pavement.
A Vision for Connected Safety
Our partnership with Pi-lit® is built on a shared vision to accelerate road safety improvements. By enabling infrastructure to see beyond its physical presence and communicate directly with agencies and, eventually, connected vehicles, we are creating a future in which every journey is protected by a layer of connected intelligence.
Together, The Ray and Pi-lit® are ensuring that our highways are no longer just passive paths, but active participants in safeguarding every driver on the road.
Let’s Drive The Future.
