U.S. Department of
Transportation
Office of the Secretary
of Transportation
Small Business Innovation Research
2004 Program Solicitation
DTRS57-04-R-SBIR
VIII. Research Topics and Descriptions
Back to List of Topics | Program Contents
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
4 04-FA1 Development of the Airborne Internet Collaborative Information Services Environment
Airborne Internet (A.I.) is a rapidly emerging data communications capability for aircraft and transportation systems. A.I. will provide a general purpose, multi-application data channel that will provide mobile information connectivity to the aircraft. This research topic is focused at exploring the extent of the development of the collaborative information environment and information transfer that the A.I. will facilitate (ie "web services"). The result of this work can be used as a basis to publish the prototype Web services to the general public, tie the prototype Web services into a data grid, and eventually to create a Virtual Airborne Internet (all of which support the implementation of the Airborne Internet Collaborative Information Services Environment).
Develop prototype Airborne Internet Web services to provide information about and relative to Airport/Facility Directory, restricted airspace. The web service must be useable with XML, SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI.
- Create a Web service based on weather data from the NOAA Aviation Digital Data Service (ADDS) website (http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov) using the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) platform.
- Create a Web service that contains Airport/Facility Directory information. (one possible solution might be to use the Microsoft .NET framework)
- Create a "restricted airspace" Web service based on data available from the FAA NOTAM website (http://tfr.faa.gov/TFR/jsp/list.jsp).
- Must be able to write and create XML Web services
- Must be able to define XML markup languages using XML Schema and declare Namespaces
- Must have previous work experience in the definition of Web service standards for aviation
- Must have conceptual knowledge of and be able to articulate the Airborne Internet
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FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION (FHWA)
1 04-FH1 In Vehicle Collision Warning System Using Infrastructure Messages
The IVI Infrastructure Consortium is developing infrastructure based warnings of potential collisions. The in vehicle system would utilize Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC), High Accuracy Nationwide Differential GPS (HANDGPS), and a handheld Linux based computer to acquire and analyze the infrastructure warnings to alert drivers.
This project would use object oriented structured programming techniques and JAVA and ADA to develop an interactive interface to the infrastructure based intersection collision warning system for intersections (stop sign, pretimed and actuated traffic signals) and process its messages. The user interface would be based on concepts in the Safety Warning System (SWS) and human factors concepts developed by the Infrastructure Consortium. The interface and data analysis programs would be copyrighted with the Free Software Foundation copyleft statement. The vendor would be expected to make their profits through support and maintenance of the tool and sale of the handheld devices with the tool incorporated.
The model would be programmed in GNU software foundation ADA and Java and run under an embedded Linux (such as the RTAI kernel ) to achieve platform independence. The IV-ICWS would be able to import maps, data and graphics files to use as templates, backgrounds or data. It would be able to acquire and interpret data from the Infrastructure Consortium's warning systems.
Phase I would develop a simple interface without import features. Phase II would enhance compatibility with the Infrastructure Consortium's devices, improve the human factors elements of the in-vehicle warning provided by the device and add multiple data import features. Phase II would be staged with interim deliverables. For this reason, experience in human factors for traffic engineering, JAVA, ADA, real time programming and traffic operations are critical.
Note: Although not required, it would be helpful if offerers provide a working example to demonstrate their ability to work with Java and user interfaces.
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1 04-FH2 Equipment for Undergrounding Utility Lines at Lower Cost
Each year, 1200 to 2000 people are killed and an additional 60,000 to 110,000 people are injured due to collisions between motor vehicles and timber utility poles. The societal cost of these run-off-road collisions is estimated to exceed $4 billion per year. This project will develop new and/or improved equipment that can significantly reduce the cost of installing utility lines underground. Undergrounding utility lines will improve roadside safety by reducing the number of utility poles in service.
Most of the utility poles are located on two lane roads. These utility pole lines typically support more than one utility. For example, they may support electric power, cable TV (CATV), telephone and fiber optic lines. A line of utility poles costs about $60,000 per mile. Converting overhead utilities to underground utilities on existing highways is expensive. Putting utility lines underground costs 4 to 10 times as much as it does to construct a pole line. Consequently, converting to underground utility lines has been done primarily for aesthetic reasons. However, there are other advantages. Underground utility lines are less susceptible to damage due to impacting vehicles, storms, vandals and terrorists.
Utility companies currently use open trenching machines for direct burial of utility lines and conduits. Open trenching is preferred because it is the lowest cost method. Directional boring machines are used to feed utility lines under sidewalks, driveways and streets. There is a need to develop new and/or improved equipment that can significantly reduce the cost of undergrounding utility lines in both urban and rural areas. Equipment for locating existing underground facilities can be part of the installation system, but the emphasis in this study is on developing equipment for placing utility lines underground.
Phase I of this study will investigate the feasibility of developing new and/or improved equipment or novel undergrounding techniques. If appropriate, conceptual designs of this equipment will be prepared. In Phase II, detailed designs will be prepared and prototypes of the new and/or improved equipment will be fabricated and field tested.
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1 04-FH3 Pedestrian Detection System for Use With IVI Collision Warning and Signal Control Systems
Current pedestrian detectors do not do an adequate job of detecting and tracking pedestrians to support collision warning systems. A pedestrian detection system using stereo imaging and artificial intelligence algorithms for pulling out and tracking pedestrians might significantly increase this capability.
Phase I would develop and demonstrate prototype software and hardware that would embody a simplified version of the system. The software would run on top of RTAI Linux or another open source Linux real time operating system to demonstrate the capabilities.
Phase I would determine what the "real time" needs are for the algorithms to pass information to the IVI and traffic control applications. The software would be demonstrated at the TFHRC IVI intersection. The algorithms and software should be prototyped and validated using MathCad.
Phase II would enhance the system algorithms and interface it to a real time ATC signal controller. Phase II would address issues related to making the system at least minimally functional during rain and snow events through data fusion with other sensors. This project requires significant experience in traffic engineering, real time control, Linux, video sensing and pedestrian detection. Phase II should be staged to produce interim demonstratable results. Phase II should provide final documented copies of the MathCad algorithms.
This project is needed to allow maximum benefit from the advanced traffic controller (ATC) and intersection collision avoidance (IVI-ICA) algorithms developed by FHWA for ITS. Current ATC controllers have the processing power of minicomputers but still do not sensors and interfaces to adequately handle pedestrians. Algorithms and MathCad software developed under this project should be open source at the end of Phase II to facilitate future research and development of pedestrian detection.
Note: Although not required, it would be helpful if offerers provide a working example to demonstrate their ability to sense pedestrians.
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Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
2 04-FR1 Wireless Brake Shoe Force Measurement System for Railroad Freight Cars
With the increasing desire to monitor actual braking capabilities there is a need to develop a self powered system that will permit the measurement of individual brake shoe forces and transmitting this information in a wireless manner to a car mounted sensor box. The shoe force measurement system must allow for replacement of the shoe with minimal effort. Railroad freight cars have four wheel truck suspensions on each end. The suspensions incorporate brake beams which force the individual brake shoes against the wheel tread surfaces. It is expected that the data acquisition and communication system will sample the shoe forces at a rate which is appropriate for the monitoring function to be performed.
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Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
3 04-FT1 Commuter Rail Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities
Since 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other related regulations have been implemented in mass transit, specifically to provide accessible transportation to persons with disabilities. Agencies that provide commuter rail service have developed methods for achieving accessibility for persons using wheelchairs or with other disabilities that preclude climbing stairs or traveling long distances in order to board a train. However many of these alternatives present specific drawbacks to both the passenger and the operator. A solution is needed that will work for passengers, freight railroads, and commuter rail operators.
One of the most difficult accessibility issues is level boarding from platforms (or lifts) in areas where long platform-commuter rail car setbacks are required because of freight service on the same track as commuter rail service.
The goal of this project will be to identify solutions that meet the ADA requirements for level boarding at commuter rail stations while maintaining setbacks that freight railroads may require as a condition of granting operating rights. Proposed solutions should include improved accessibility to commuter rail trains for persons with disabilities without sacrificing passenger safety or requiring boarding areas that are long distances from the principal boarding area, or unduly adding delays to tightly scheduled train service. The ultimate effect would be to increase commuter rail ridership. An improved method or technology for bridging the platform-rail car gap would achieve faster boarding for all passengers (parents with strollers, etc.), and would result in increased ridership and reduce train dwell times.
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3 04-FT2 Introducing Children to Mass Transit
Any long-term program for increasing transit ridership and sustaining that ridership must target the inclusion of children. After all, if people are not introduced to transit as a viable option and shown how it enriches their lives when they are young, will they even consider transit when they grow up? Use of transit is a learned behavior -- not an inherited behavior. This project will focus on the potential for developing a package of commercially viable marketing tools/materials or services designed to educate children about the benefits of riding transit. The result should be a variety of methods that transit agencies around the nation can use to introduce young people to public transit in rich and rewarding ways that they will never forget.
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3 04-FT3 Application of New Methods, Techniques and Technologies Designed to Increase Mass Transit Ridership
One of the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) goals is to encourage the identification and implementation of methods, techniques, and technologies that will increase transit ridership. This topic is designed to elicit ideas for the development and application of cost effective ITS technologies designed to increase transit ridership in a Bus Rapid
Transit system or service.
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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
4 04-NH1 Development of Device for Enhancing the Seating Position of Short-Stature Older Drivers to Improve Safety and Mobility
Older drivers are the fastest growing group of drivers on the road today (a 39 percent increase over the past decade alone), yet they also account for nearly double the number of annual traffic fatalities in comparison to their proportion in the general population. This proposed SBIR topic suggests the development of a seating device to accommodate short-statured drivers (5' 3" and below), with particular emphasis on older drivers. Loss of height is an issue for many older drivers, especially older women. Thus, this issue particularly affects seniors.
The goal is to develop a user-friendly product that will enhance operation of a vehicle and improve both safety and mobility. Since the use of a device for adjusting the seating position of the driver may have implications for safety, consideration should also be given to corollary products, such as pedal extenders, that would allow the driver to sit further back from the driver's side airbag, which also affects short-statured drivers. Research has shown that mobility is central to qualify of life. Mobility involves the ability to travel independently and this includes driving for many seniors. A seating position enhancement may allow some senior drivers to drive more safely for a longer period of time before they have to give up the keys.
The seating enhancement would also benefit younger drivers who are short statured as well. Anecdotally we are aware that many short-statured adults use pillows or other devices (like phone books) to sit higher in the driver's seat. While some vehicles have mechanisms that allow the driver's seat to be raised to an appropriate height, many vehicles do not. Even those that do allow seat adjustments often do not adjust high enough for the short-statured driver to see clearly in all directions. Moreover, vehicles that do not have adjustable shoulder-belt harnesses are often extremely uncomfortable for short-statured drivers who are therefore more likely to not use or misuse the shoulder belt portion by placing it behind their back or under their arm. A mechanism for enhancing the seating position could help solve this problem by raising the driver high enough so that the shoulder belt would fit properly.
In developing an approach, proposers should also consider crashworthiness issues (e.g., air bag deployment) related to the use of a device for enhancing a driver's seat position, including the relationship between the position of the driver and the steering wheel. In developing the system, the contractor should ensure that the proposed product is compatible with relevant Federal Standards as specified in CFR 49 and does not interfere with existing vehicle safety equipment.
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4 04-NH2 Development of a Low Cost Ethanol Sensor System with Wireless Capabilities to Deter Repeat DWI Offenders
More than 17,000 persons died in alcohol-related (A/R) crashes in 2002. With increasing attention directed at developing innovative approaches for reducing the incidence of A/R), it appears that one promising approach is to couple conventional deterrence with recent advances in technology. Past research indicates that substantial reductions in A/R crashes can be obtained when roadside alcohol checkpoints are frequently used. Nevertheless, it is extremely difficult to detect alcohol-impaired drivers during the brief interviews (lasting a few seconds) that are typically conducted by police at checkpoints. Research has shown that detection rates are low and many high-risk alcohol impaired drivers slip through the system. Law enforcement officers have employed hand-held passive alcohol detectors at roadside checkpoints to increase detection rates, but these types of devices have problems that have limited their applicability. The proposed approach would merge new, low cost sensor technologies with wireless capabilities to provide a system with the potential to allow authorities to screen for impaired repeat-offenders at checkpoints more efficiently. Such a system would provide information to supplement the information normally obtained at checkpoints through the observation of drivers and the performance of standard field sobriety tests.
The proposed system would consist of (1) an ethanol sensor to reliably distinguish ethanol from other volatile substances in the air of a driver's vehicle and (2) a combination of wireless technology (e.g., Bluetooth, WiFi) and "intelligence" on the specific vehicle (e.g., model, year, color), to transmit an alert to officers at roadside checkpoints as an enhancement to the vehicle screening process. Placement and implementation of such a system in the vehicles of repeat-offenders would require consideration of a number of factors, including, but not limited to, cost, operating temperature, detection range, triggering concentration, sampling, placement, ease of installation, immunity to both tampering and circumvention (e.g., open window), low false positive rate, and acceptability in both the legal and adjudicative domains. Consideration must also be given to the method for providing information to checkpoint officers such that operation of a "receiver" is hands free and easy to interpret and use. It should be noted that actual measurement of ethanol concentration, although desirable, would not be necessary, and that only the detection of the presence of concentrations above a certain criterion level would be required.
Proposals for the Phase I development effort should be based on concepts for utilization of specific hardware, software and procedures. The proposal should demonstrate a viable approach that would validate the concepts and specifically demonstrate how the concept would provide a practicable approach for screening vehicles passing through roadside alcohol checkpoints. Upon successful completion of Phase I, the actual development of the chosen concept for commercial deployment may be undertaken.
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Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA)
04-RS1 Transportation Infrastructure Renewal
New and innovative material technologies for performing quick and durable and sustained repair of concrete and pavement structures without interference to transportation services or flow of traffic on highways.
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04-RS2 Innovative Safety and Reliability Technologies for Pipeline System Integrity Management
America receives over two-thirds of the crude and petroleum products for more than 55 million residential and commercial customers, through more than 160,000 miles of pipelines (based on year 2002 liquid pipeline operator national mileage information). In addition, over 320,000 miles of gas transmission pipeline transport natural gas to local companies that distribute it to local customers. This supply of energy has too often been disrupted by local pipeline leaks, such as recently occurred in Arizona that significantly reduced the supply of petroleum to Phoenix. RSPA/OPS has designed a SBIR topic for 2004 to help address this continuing problem. The topic described below supports the DOT Secretary's strategic vision of using SBIR funds to develop "safer, simpler and smarter transportation solutions".
Historically, mechanical damage is the single largest cause of failures on pipelines (transporting both natural gas and hazardous liquids). Mechanical damage usually occurs after a pipeline has been constructed and is caused by excavation equipment, which deforms the shape of the pipe, scrapes away metal and coating, and changes the mechanical properties of the pipe near the damage.
Phase I research is sought on the use of innovative tools or concepts that allow for enhancing process management, pipeline monitoring and detection of metal loss due to mechanical damage in liquid and or natural gas applications. Areas of interest include but are not limited to:
Pipeline Integrity management software tools.
As an oversight tool, the development of a dynamic database, for safe, smart operation of pipeline transportation infrastructure. From the process management perspective, this tool could provide notification protocols, critical punch list, and forms or documentation automation with timelines. At the tasking level, the tool could identify ordered, activities, notification and status distribution in accordance with OPS protocols. This innovative workflow, process based, decision database provides enhancements within operator's integrity management plans.
Cost effective approaches for pipeline monitoring using aerial surveillance.
Due to shorter visual inspection cycles, increased mileage and non-continuous High Consequence Areas (HCA), lowering the cost for aerial surveillance that incorporate monitoring technologies are needed. Approaches using innovative technologies that can quickly detect pipeline conditions, encroachments, and small leaks are desired. In addition, innovative concepts to preempt third party damage to pipelines by detecting encroachment of pipelines and their right-of-way will be considered.
Detection of coincidental metal loss from mechanical pipeline damage
Mechanical damage on pipelines cause dents to be formed. Those dents can be divided into two basic groups called "Cup or Saucer" dents.
"Saucer" dents are smooth, typically non-injurious, and the presence of coincidental metal loss is sometimes detectable. Even if detected at these smooth internal surface transitions, the metal loss is rarely evaluated properly due to the variables introduced by the upset in curvature. Both the Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) and Compression wave Ultrasonic Transmission (UT) devices require consistent and predictable behavior of the sensor array as it passes an area of metal loss. Dents, even smooth dents, introduce sensor upset that produces other variables whose impacts are not known.
"Cup" dents and buckles are abrupt, very injurious, and the presence of coincidental metal loss is much harder to detect. The more abrupt the deformation causes a more injurious anomaly, resulting is less definition of the material loss.
For enhanced safety and reliability of pipeline integrity management, innovative in-line inspection technologies are sought that eliminate the efforts of unpredictable sensor behavior as the metal loss devices transverse an area of pipeline surface deformation.
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1Phase I may be up to $96,000 and Phase II may be up to $720,000
2Phase I may be up to $100,000 and Phase II may be up to $250,000
3Phase I may be up to $100,000 and Phase II may be up to $500,000
4Phase I may be up to $100,000 and Phase II may be up to $300,000
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SOLICITATIONS