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General

Unconventional Aircraft (UA) Noise Research

The U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s Acoustics Unconventional Aircraft (UA) Noise Research Team, with support from the FAA’s Office of Environment and Energy (AEE), was created to focus on issues relating to the noise and community acceptance of UAs as they begin to enter into the National Airspace System. 

The Importance of Highways to U.S. Agriculture Infographic

About This Document

Agricultural products are the single largest category of freight transported on U.S. highways by volume. The Volpe Center collaborated with the U.S. DOT Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy and the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service to study the economic impacts...

Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse

About This Document

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) collaborated with the U.S. DOT Volpe Center to develop the new CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, an online database for reporting drug and alcohol violations and other information about CDL holders who operate...

Resiliency of the Global Positioning System (GPS) Infographic

About This Document

GPS receivers are susceptible to disruption and interference. The need for reliable sources of position, navigation, and timing (PNT) information is more important now than ever. 

In support of and collaboration with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for...

AAM Software Frequently Asked Questions

The Advanced Acoustic Model (AAM) is a suite of computer programs that predicts far-field noise from fixed-wing aircraft, rotary-wing aircraft, or moving and stationary ground-based operations. It is a simulation model that computes time varying noise levels for each step in a user-defined flight...

Advanced Acoustic Model (AAM) Software

About AAM

The Advanced Acoustic Model (AAM) is a suite of software tools that allows users to model vehicle sound levels at receiver positions, either on a uniform grid or at specific defined locations, from helicopters, tiltrotor vehicles, and fixed wing aircraft.

AAM is flexible in its ability to allow users to model noise from any traditional or evolving transportation noise source. 

Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council Annual Report to Congress

This annual report to Congress assesses federal and state agency progress in implementing best practices to improve environmental review and approval processes for complex infrastructure projects. Learn how FPISC coordinates this process to help improve environmental reviews and authorization...

The Track Inspection and Maintenance Process Infographic

About This Document

FRA asked a team of U.S. DOT Volpe Center human factors experts to research visual and automation-aided rail inspection processes. The team focused on railroad inspection systems that employ automated track geometry technology, a widely used form of...