Frustrated by sitting at red lights with no cross traffic, UWM PhD student Joel Roberts turned a daily annoyance into innovation. His startup, Shepherd Traffic, uses computer vision and algorithms to automate traffic data collection—providing more detailed, accurate, and cost-effective insights for smarter signal timing and road design.
Roberts’ pitch earned the $2,500 grand prize at the WiSys Big Idea Pitch Competition, standing out among top student innovators across Wisconsin. His system not only counts vehicles, bikes, and pedestrians but also tracks trajectories and delay times—offering a scalable, real-time solution far beyond manual clipboards.
Backed by UWM’s Lubar Entrepreneurship Center and mentored by Civil Engineering Professor Xiao Qin, Roberts integrates his startup into his academic research. With support from the national I-Corps program, he’s now exploring ways to expand his system to include near-miss detection and risky behavior forecasting—insights that could revolutionize intersection design and urban safety.
As cities move toward smarter infrastructure, Shepherd Traffic is helping lead the way.