Digital mapping tool will improve Ottawa’s traffic infrastructure

You might spot a unique City vehicle driving around Ottawa streets this summer. At first glance, it may look like a regular SUV with a camera and tripod strapped to the roof—and you wouldn’t be entirely wrong. But there’s much more happening behind the scenes. This vehicle is part of the Mobile Mapping of Traffic Infrastructure Project. It’s a collaboration between multiple City departments and falls under the Digital Twin and Reality Capture program. Mounted on the vehicle is a Mosaic Meridian system—a high-precision mobile mapping tool equipped with a 360º camera and LiDAR sensors. The goal? To create a comprehensive digital inventory of Ottawa’s traffic infrastructure, including:

• Street signs
• Traffic signals
• Pavement markings
• Streetlights
• Pedestrian crossovers
• And more

Think of it like Google Street View—but dedicated to the infrastructure that keeps our streets safe and moving.  Why It Matters Having a detailed, up-to-date digital inventory helps City staff plan, install, and maintain traffic assets more efficiently. The data collected will also feed into Ottawa’s Digital Twin—a cutting-edge 3D model of the city that supports smarter planning and decision-making. You can already explore parts of the Digital Twin on Engage Ottawa where it is being used to help develop the New Zoning Bylaw.   The digital twin and reality capture program also helps professionals like planners, architects, and emergency services who use it regularly to support their work.  The Digital Twin uses advanced technologies like LiDAR (Light detection and ranging), photogrammetry, drones, and 360-degree imagery to create high-fidelity digital replicas of Ottawa’s physical environment—both indoors and outdoors.  Protecting Your Privacy While the focus of this project is on traffic infrastructure, the system may incidentally capture personal information, such as faces or license plates. To protect your privacy an automated anonymization process will blur all personal identifiers.  For more information about privacy protection, visit the project page.