Ouster BlueCity to Power the Largest Lidar-Enabled Smart Traffic Solution in the United States

January 14, 2025 at 06:00 AM EST

Ouster awarded two-million-dollar contract in Chattanooga, TN
Ouster BlueCity traffic management solution to be deployed at over 120 intersections

Ouster, Inc. (Nasdaq: OUST) (“Ouster” or the “Company”), a leading provider of high-performance lidar sensors for the automotive, industrial, robotics and smart infrastructure industries, announced today that it was awarded a two-million-dollar contract to deploy its Ouster BlueCity traffic management solution in Chattanooga, Tennessee to improve roadway safety and reduce congestion.

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Ouster BlueCity deployed in Chattanooga, TN (Photo: Business Wire)

Following a successful pilot at 12 intersections, the City of Chattanooga will expand Ouster’s BlueCity solution to over 120 intersections, covering the downtown area. With this expansion, Ouster BlueCity will be the largest deployment of lidar detection technology for traffic and pedestrian safety in the United States. The project will combine digital lidar sensors and edge AI at each intersection to manage traffic flow, detect and analyze safety incidents and provide detection for vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications.

“Chattanooga is leading the country in adopting smart city technology to improve our roadways, and with it, the safety and quality of life of our citizens,” said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. “Using American lidar and advanced perception software from Ouster, we are building the largest lidar-powered smart traffic network in the United States. This technology will enable optimized traffic signal management on roads and intersections to improve traffic flow and provide data we can use to improve pedestrian safety."

Ouster BlueCity is a turnkey solution that delivers more intelligent signal actuation at intersections while generating an analytics data stream that gives traffic operators and city planners high quality insights about their public corridors. Ouster BlueCity combines digital lidar with perception software and data analytics, enabling the creation of a real-time 3D digital traffic twin of an intersection or road. The solution automates data collection in the cloud to monitor road events more accurately for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, enabling quick safety interventions and long-term planning optimizations. Using deep learning AI perception, Ouster BlueCity delivers reliability and advanced object classification and detection for a range of complex use cases including traffic actuation, near-miss detection, outside of crosswalk events, red light running and wrong-way driving.

Chattanooga is working with Southern Lighting & Traffic Systems and the Center for Urban Informatics & Progress (CUIP), part of the University of Tennessee Chattanooga Research Institute (UTCRI), to expand the city's lidar connected traffic infrastructure by the end of 2025.

“We are excited to be part of this innovative expansion that will drive meaningful traffic and safety optimizations in our city, all while ensuring privacy of residents,” said Mina Sartipi, Founding Director of the Center for Urban Informatics and Professor at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga. “Ouster BlueCity already led us to install a crosswalk that resulted in a 100% reduction in near-miss incidents on a high-risk city block. We are just starting to capture the full benefits of this technology.”

Ouster BlueCity is already deployed at hundreds of intersections around the world with more underway as municipalities take steps to modernize their traffic infrastructure. Ouster BlueCity achieved system-level NEMA TS2 certification as a detection system for traffic actuation in 2024, making it the first certified lidar traffic solution with Buy America(n) lidar.

“We are thrilled to work with the City of Chattanooga and its partners to deploy the largest lidar-powered traffic network in the country,” said Asad Lesani, VP of Smart Infrastructure Products at Ouster. “Every accident we can help prevent and every hour of transit time saved with advanced digital lidar detection is a win. Ouster BlueCity already yields invaluable results, and we look forward to rapidly expanding its adoption.”

To learn more about this expanded deployment of advanced digital lidar detection, register to join a free ITS America webinar with the University of Tennessee Chattanooga and Ouster on January 21, 2025.

About Ouster

Ouster (Nasdaq: OUST) is a leading global provider of high-resolution scanning and solid-state lidar sensors and software solutions for the automotive, industrial, robotics, and smart infrastructure industries. Ouster is on a mission to build a safer and more sustainable future by offering affordable, high-performance sensors that drive mass adoption across a wide variety of applications. Ouster is headquartered in San Francisco, CA with offices in the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. For more information about our products, visit www.ouster.com, contact our sales team, or connect with us on X or LinkedIn.

About the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Research Institute

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Research Institute (UTCRI) was founded in 2023 to bolster UTC’s focus on building cross-disciplinary teams and catalyzing partnerships to establish enduring programs of excellence to address challenges that can’t be solved using a single-discipline approach. UTCRI’s work addresses specific and critical challenges in urban infrastructure, mobility, sustainability, and healthcare.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements are based upon current plans, estimates and expectations of management that are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. The inclusion of forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation that such plans, estimates and expectations will be achieved. Words such as “anticipate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “plan,” “can,” “could,” “offer,” “estimate,” “possible,” “potential,” “pursue,” “demonstrate,” and the negative of these terms and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, though not all forward-looking statements use these words or expressions. All statements, other than historical facts, including statements regarding the benefits of Ouster’s software offerings and software-attached offerings, impacts on other revenue streams, industry and business trends, Ouster’s business objectives, plans, market growth and Ouster’s competitive position, all constitute forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expected, including, but not limited to, risks related to important factors discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, as may be further updated from time to time in the Company’s other filings with the SEC. Readers are urged to consider these factors carefully and in the totality of the circumstances when evaluating these forward-looking statements, and not to place undue reliance on any of them. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s reasonable estimates and beliefs as of the date of this press release. While Ouster may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it disclaims any obligation to do so, other than as may be required by law, even if subsequent events cause its views to change.