Drones are giving European cities a fresh perspective on traffic, emissions, and safety. A new scientific study, carried out by metaCCAZE partner MobiLysis shows how drone-based mobility monitoring can deliver powerful data to plan smarter and more sustainable urban transport.
Large-scale experiments across five cities
As part of the EU-funded projects ACUMEN, DELPHI, and metaCCAZE, MobiLysis, deployed drone fleets in Athens, Helsinki, Madrid, Mykonos and Limassol, recording more than 1.5 million anonymous trajectories of vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. The GDPR-compliant approach provided detailed insights where ground sensors fall short.
What this means for cities
The experiments show drones’ flexibility across very different urban contexts and their value in strengthening digital twins and mobility models. By combining aerial data with existing infrastructure, cities gain actionable insights to cut emissions, improve safety and plan for climate-neutral mobility.
Read the full paper
Barmpounakis, E. et al. (2025). A New Perspective on Urban Mobility Through Large-Scale Drone Experiments for Smarter, Sustainable Cities. Drones, 9(637). https://doi.org/10.3390/drones9090637
MobiLysis’s role in metaCCAZE
MobiLysis’ main role in metaCCAZE is to design and conduct drone experiments to support the activities and development of methodologies in Limassol, Yvelines (Paris Region) and Kraków.
Access MobiLysis’s and all metaCCAZE scientific publications here.