Rocco, ZitoAlzahrani, Ali Omar2025-09-012025https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14154/76304Accurate traffic data collection is essential for effective traffic modelling, congestion management, and road safety analysis. However, traditional methods such manual counting and fixed-location systems like SCATS are often limited including restricted coverage, high labour costs, and reduced adaptability in complex environments. The study here considers the application of drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) as a contemporary method for traffic data collection and performance assessment at different traffic conditions, such as intersections and roundabouts. Drones can provide a broader perspective of intersections by filming from above, providing a better view of the dynamics of traffic flow, especially in places that are hard to observe from the ground. Three locations were selected in Adelaide based on traffic volume and site complexity to evaluate their effectiveness and these include: signalised intersection with high traffic, roundabout with medium traffic, and another roundabout with low traffic. Drone recordings were taken at peak hours and the traffic volumes were estimated. These volumes were then entered into the SIDRA software, in which the digital models of the respective sites were developed. Once the site layout was created, traffic data were introduced to the models and calibrated with real conditions. This difference emphasises the benefits of using a drone for data collection, especially in sites where conventional automated systems such as SCATS are not available or feasible. Using drones for traffic analysis shows a great potential since they provide higher perspective and larger coverage than the traditional ground-based methods do. This advantage is particularly clear for complicated environments, for example crossroads and roundabouts, since it can be difficult to collect full vehicle movements following recording analysis for ground-level observer. Although promising, the degree of improvement in SIDRA results due to drone-acquired data is yet to be fully understood. While the results indicate that drones may enhance the granularity and fidelity of traffic evaluations, it is still unclear if they can be consistently better than classical traffic sensors. However, drones are peculiar as, in several cases, are superior to the current state of the art in the context of traffic monitoring applications. Although issues related to regulatory compliance and weather conditions persist, the advantages drones offer in terms of spatial coverage, data accuracy, and cost efficiency position them as a transformative tool in traffic modelling.63entraffic data collectiontraffic modellingSIDRA softwareThesis