Volpe Center Year in Review 2008
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Advanced Vehicle and Information Network Systems
The Advanced Vehicle and Information Network Systems COI provides systems engineering and analysis, operations research, and related capabilities to identify, assess, and deploy advanced technologies and new operational strategies for reducing the frequency and consequences of transportation-related crashes. It also assesses alternative approaches for overcoming institutional, financial, technical, and other barriers to the deployment of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) at the local, regional, and national levels. Volpe Center experts have been at the vanguard of research, development, and deployment of ITS for more than 20 years.
Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems (IVBSS)
Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems (IVBSS) is a research initiative of U.S. DOT's Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) program, undertaken in cooperation with an industry team led by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). This initiative seeks to accelerate the introduction and commercialization of integrated vehicle-based crash-warning systems for light vehicles and heavy trucks. The systems warn drivers of crash-imminent situations in order to prevent rear-end, lane-change, and road-departure crashes and incidents. The objectives of IVBSS are to assess potential safety benefits and driver acceptance of the integrated safety systems. This project fulfills the mission of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce vehicle-related crashes. The integrated systems are expected to prevent conflicting warnings, reduce false alarms, enhance consumer and fleet-operator acceptance, and boost product marketability. IVBSS is the first large-scale initiative for both light-vehicle and heavy-truck platforms that focuses on safety-system integration.
The Volpe Center serves as the independent evaluator of integrated safety systems for NHTSA. In 2008, the Center worked closely with NHTSA and industry-team members to complete the development and verification testing of IVBSS prototypes. On the basis of test results, the project will proceed with large field operational tests (FOTs) of IVBSS-equipped light vehicles and heavy trucks in 2009. The Volpe Center team provided expert input on IVBSS system design and functionality, developed and validated verification test procedures for track and public road tests for cars and trucks, evaluated the results of test track and public road verification testing of prototype IVBSS on cars and trucks, and made recommendations for enhancing system performance prior to field trials. The team also prepared an independent evaluation plan for IVBSS on the basis of data to be collected in the FOTs. This plan included development of data-mining algorithms and analysis techniques to forecast the safety benefits likely to accrue from widespread national IVBSS deployment. (Sponsored by DOT/NHTSA)
SafeTrip-21 Intelligent Transportation System (ITS)
In 2008 RITA and the Volpe Center launched a bold new intelligent transportation system (ITS) initiative, commonly known as "SafeTrip-21." SafeTrip-21 builds upon the U.S. DOT IntelliDriveSM research, and leverages current technologies that are widely used, such as cellular phones, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and the Internet, to accelerate the advance of safety and mobility applications.
In June 2008, the Volpe Center entered into a cooperative agreement with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and established the inaugural SafeTrip-21 field test site in the San Francisco Bay Area. In November 2008, the Volpe Center entered into a Cooperative Agreement (CA) with the I-95 Corridor Coalition, through the University of Maryland. This agreement will have the potential—through a variety of information resources—to make more informed travel decisions and better monitor travel through work-zone areas as it advises approaching motorists of queues in traffic, ultimately allowing travel along the East Coast to flow more efficiently.
Successful establishment of these CAs was a "first" for the Volpe Center's Acquisition Division (AD). A challenge arose when it was determined that the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) was not applicable to CAs. However, the AD staff obtained guidelines and procedures on CAs through many hours of researching and conducting internal reviews of multiple Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars.
SafeTrip-21 technologies were unveiled at the 15th ITS World Congress in New York City in November 2008. A New York MTA bus and two rental vehicles were equipped to demonstrate applications for both drivers and transit riders on the streets of Manhattan. Key driver and pedestrian applications were also showcased at a special "Integrate Show," which included technologies developed worldwide. New SafeTrip-21 partners were also announced at the World Congress: iCone deploys active road cones to help increase roadway safety by using radar to measure traffic speed and Parking Carma fields a mobile web-enabled parking application that allows travelers to find, reserve, and pay for a parking space at a participating "smart" parking lot.
SafeTrip-21 is the first multimodal public ITS demonstration directed toward integrating existing technologies to achieve measurable improvements in safety, mobility and convenience for the commuting public. SafeTrip-21 is a testimony to the power of innovation and public-private partnerships by enabling government, nonprofits, transit agencies, private industry, and people to solve transportation challenges. (Sponsored by DOT/RITA ITS Joint Program Office)
High-Tech Wireless Communication for Transportation
On behalf of the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, the Volpe Center brought together leaders from the private sector, academia, and government to explore how advanced telecommunications technologies might be leveraged to achieve measurable reductions in vehicle crashes and congestion. The Volpe Center, with approval by the Deputy Secretary, released a new report, Advanced Wireless Communication for the Transportation Sector, which summarizes this successful roundtable held on May 22, 2008, that brought together 40 leading experts in the field of wireless communications. The report reveals that significant opportunities exist to make use of expertise in wireless communications and related technologies. The new language of technology—including wiki collaboration, mashups, and Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, or MANETs—represents challenges, but more importantly, potential opportunities for growth.
Harnessing and rapidly deploying these emerging communications technologies will lead to fewer crashes on our roadways and result in overall improvements in the performance of the transportation system. Such efforts will also result in improved situational awareness, including dynamic rerouting, signal timing, and synchronization based on real-time data, and evolving traffic and weather conditions. Electronic tolling and fees for all modes of transit can be enabled through existing technologies as well as through development of mobile electronic devices. Finally, bridges, roads, rails, and other critical infrastructure can be monitored remotely, leading to improved operations of the Nation's transportation enterprise. (Sponsored by DOT/RITA)