Department of Transportation and university researchers are working on an array of new technologies, including a system that will warn drivers if their car is about to crash into another vehicle or veer off the road into a guard rail or tree. But before such collision-preventing technologies can go into cars or be integrated into highway systems, the DOT must smooth the way for them to emerge successfully from the research and testing phases. Tim Klein is the department’s point man who shepherds Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) through the lengthy process needed to make state-of-the art transportation technology a reality.
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August 17, 2011 - ITS America Announces Finalists for 2011 Best of ITS Awards -
The awards will recognize the best and the brightest in the high-tech transportation industry during the 2011 Best of ITS Awards at the 18th World Congress & Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida…
Best New Innovative Products, Services, or Applications
Carnegie Mellon University, “Tiramisu Transit”
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August 17, 2011 - Guide to Sustainable Transportation Performance Measures -
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a report that describes potential opportunities for transportation agencies to incorporate environmental, economic, and social sustainability into decision-making through the use of performance measures.
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August 16, 2011 - Apps and tech together: ‘Smart’ highways and smartphones smoothing your commute -
Technology is making your commute smoother. A $60 million investment in technology and Mission Control-like traffic management centers is turning South Florida roads into “smart” highways, giving officials a leg up on responding to accidents faster and helping drivers avoid snarls on the road. Combined with an explosion of smartphone apps, highway tech is dramatically changing the way drivers take to the roadways.
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August 16, 2011 - Auto Technology Aids Senior Independence -
“As you get older, the possible loss of that driving capability is equated with the removal of freedom, so what we can do to try to help older people continue to drive is important to them, because it really equates to a loss of freedom if they can’t do that,” says Gary Strumulo, Manager of Vehicle Design and Infotronics at Ford.
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August 16, 2011 - Rental businesses let San Francisco drivers share their own cars -
SAN FRANCISCO – Shannon Stairhime and her car split up every morning. She commutes on public transportation to her job in the East Bay while her Toyota Corolla waits on the street for its next driver. “It used to just sit there and occasionally get tickets,” said Stairhime, who rents her car to neighbors for $5 an hour through a new business called RelayRides. “Now I feel like I’m contributing and giving back to the neighborhood.”
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August 16, 2011 - Parking? Yes, there’s an app for that -
Streetline, a San Francisco-based startup, makes sensor technology that can detect the metal of a car, which allows Streetline to track the occupancy of parking spaces in real time. Consumers can download the free Parker app on their smartphone and use it to discover how many parking spots are available on a given street.
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August 14, 2011 - USDOT Begins Testing Smart Transportation Systems -
Testing for a new vehicle-to-vehicle communication system is beginning this week on a specially arranged road course at the Michigan International Speedway (MIS). The US Department of Transportation is examining systems that use “communication-based safety warnings” to reduce the number of traffic accidents by alerting the driver when there is a risk of a crash or other safety driving hazard.
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August 14, 2011 - Federal, state business leaders back plan to integrate travel, energy, Internet -
The proposal, called Wave3.0, would enhance the connection between transportation, energy and the Internet. With Wave3.0, for instance, vehicles could avoid traffic jams, keep up with drivers’ personal day-to-day schedules or help drivers text safely on the road, said Udi Naamani, who was in charge of the proposal created at the Connected Vehicle Proving Center at the University of Michigan Dearborn.
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August 14, 2011 - YSU gets $462K for transportation research -
The center also is funding research into intelligent vehicle transportation systems to minimize susceptibility to electromagnetic signal interference and ensure proper communication between vehicles and intelligent transportation systems.
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August 14, 2011 - Mobility matters: the view from the Transportation and Infrastructure Summit -
At the summit, DOT leaders presented scenarios for improved transportation to seamlessly move people and goods while protecting our environment, reducing dependence on foreign oil, and creating jobs.
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August 14, 2011 - Developing Smart Cars, Roads for a Greener Drive -
Now, engineers at the University of California, Riverside, are working on “dynamic” eco-driving, in which drivers get real-time feedback and advice on how to improve their fuel efficiency and cut carbon dioxide emissions. Within five years, researchers say, computer screens on the dashboard will likely tell drivers when to slow down to anticipate a red light, what the optimum fuel-efficient speed is for the stretch of freeway they’re on and whether to change lanes to maintain a consistent average speed.
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August 12, 2011 - CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR PLANNING GRANTS Establishing a VREF Centre of Excellence for Managing freight in the urban transport situation -
Volvo Research and Educational Foundations (VREF) invites city and university authorities to submit joint applications for planning grants to establish the next VREF Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Managing freight in the urban transport situation.
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August 12, 2011 - Development of Sensory Cities Ramps Up in China with Application of Technologies in Key Fields -
In the urban traffic field, advanced information technologies, data transmission technologies, electronic control technologies and computer processing technologies will be applied to traffic and transportation to establish an informatized, intelligentized and socialized system, which provides citizens with multiple services and enhance the security, energy-efficiency and effectiveness of urban traffic through the collection, processing, distribution, exchange, analysis and utilization of information.
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August 12, 2011 - Near Field Communication: A Quick Guide to the Future of Mobile -
Transportation: NFC works with most contactless smart cards and readers, meaning it can easily be integrated into the public transit payment systems in cities that already use a smart card swipe…
In the news, NFC is most often discussed in relation to mobile payments or “the digital wallet.” Unlike many other wireless technologies, NFC has a short range of about 1.5 inches. This makes it a good choice for secure transactions, such as contactless credit card payments.
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August 12, 2011 - Ford investigates creating a mobile data network using the cars themselves -
Ford believes the key is Wi-Fi, but not the ordinary access point and receiving device setup. What Ford envisions, Mascarenas said, is a high-powered, heavily encrypted Wi-Fi that establishes point-to-point connections between cars within a half-mile radius. Those connections could be used to communicate vital information between vehicles, either triggering alerts to the driver or interpreted by the vehicle’s computer.
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August 12, 2011 - Department of Energy Awards More Than $175 Million for Advanced Vehicle Research and Development -
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced more than $175 million over the next three to five years to accelerate the development and deployment of advanced vehicle technologies. The funding will support 40 projects across 15 states and will help improve the fuel efficiency of next generation vehicles.
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August 12, 2011 - Autopilot cars set for take-off -
The car industry is working towards an accident-free future but remains divided over how to achieve it. Autonomous vehicles that can drive without a human behind the wheel are on the agenda for several major companies, including Volkswagen and General Motors, but safety-led company Volvo believes humans must always retain control.
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August 12, 2011 - Advanced car ‘brains’ actually do save drivers -
TV ads show off automotive collision avoidance tech, but a new independent study proves that it’s actually working. Advanced car “brains” do a better job avoiding common low-speed crashes than human brains that are distracted. “Whenever you can say things like, ‘Almost a quarter of crashes being avoided,’ that’s a huge number. But that’s where we are,” said Kim Hazelbaker, senior vice president of the Highway Loss Data Institute, a nonprofit research organization funded by the automotive insurance industry that studied the technology.
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August 12, 2011 - Google’s self-driving car in a crash -
Last week, Google’s self-driving car got into an accident. It was minor — only a fender bender — and a Google spokesperson quickly assuaged fears about the technology when she confirmed that a human was driving the car manually when the accident happened. But the accident raised other concerns about liability: If a robot is driving the car, who is liable in an accident?
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August 12, 2011 - Two groups of entrepreneurs want to light up your bike’s wheels -
Carnegie Mellon University industrial design sophomores Jonathan Ota and Ethan Frier are currently using a research grant to develop their Aura system. It incorporates six groups of three tri-color LEDs embedded into both rims, that are powered by a dynamo generator built into the front hub.
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August 11, 2011 - Safe Volvo may nudge feds on crash avoidance -
In July, the Highway Loss Data Institute — an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety — published a study demonstrating that the XC60, which has a low-speed collision-avoidance system dubbed City Safety, was involved in fewer property damage accidents than other mid-sized luxury SUVs.
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August 11, 2011 - Intelligent Transportation Employment to Expand in U.S., Group Says -
The Intelligent Transportation Society of America, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy group for technologies in ground transport, said the industry generated $48 billion in revenue in 2009 in the U.S. and should increase $2.7 billion to $4.2 billion annually through 2015, the organization said.
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August 11, 2011 - Dubuque To Track Bus Riders -
Now, the city is teaming up with IBM to get some answers. Moreck said, “we are handing out what’s called radio frequency identification tags. By using that we are able to track those boarding and de-boarding the bus. ” The city also needs to know where people are traveling each day who DO NOT use the bus system. The city is asking volunteers to download the app on their smart phone.
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August 11, 2011 - DHL and Blue Dart launch Smart Truck -
DHL, the world’s leading logistics company, and Blue Dart, part of the DHL Group, are piloting Smart Truck technology in Bengaluru, India, the first deployment of this successful logistics innovation outside Germany. Created by DHL Solutions & Innovations (DSI), the DHL Smart Truck is an “intelligent” pick-up and delivery vehicle that combines a number of innovative technologies including a route planner. Launched in Germany in 2010, DHL Smart Truck reduced number of miles traveled by 15 per cent and length of average route by 8 per cent during its pilot stage, reducing both fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
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August 11, 2011 - USDOT Begins Testing Smart Transportation Systems -
Testing for a new vehicle-to-vehicle communication system is beginning this week on a specially arranged road course at the Michigan International Speedway (MIS). The US Department of Transportation is examining systems that use “communication-based safety warnings” to reduce the number of traffic accidents by alerting the driver when there is a risk of a crash or other safety driving hazard.
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August 11, 2011 - Trains’ vibrations could provide power for monitoring tunnels -
researchers are developing a power unit that harvests the vibrations from passing traffic to power the wireless sensor nodes of a structural health monitoring system for tunnels. The power harvesting unit could reduce maintenance costs and improve the performance of the sensor network.
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August 11, 2011 - 2011 U.S. DOT Data Visualization Student Challenge -
Do you have what it takes to apply data visualization for transportation investment or policy decisions? The United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) wants to see what you can do!
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August 11, 2011 - Crossing Solutions at Roundabouts and Channelized Right Turn Lanes for Pedestrians with Visual Impairments -
TRB will co-sponsor a web briefing or “webinar” on August 17, 2011, from 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. EDT that will present information about a National Cooperative Highway Research Program project that produced Report 674: Crossing Solutions at Roundabouts and Channelized Turn Lanes for Pedestrians with Vision Disabilities.
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August 11, 2011 - Carnegie Mellon iPhone Bus App Brings Real-Time Data to Disabled Riders -
A new free iPhone app from Carnegie Mellon University promises to let riders know when to expect their buses to arrive. Although arrival time apps are available for well funded bus systems around the country, Tiramisu relies on crowdsourcing input from riders to generate updates about the current location and fullness of the bus.
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August 11, 2011 - Technology drives better ways of getting around -
Although getting cars off the road and encouraging people to use public transport is a major part of the battle to reduce traffic congestion, technology is becoming an increasingly large part of the mix.
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August 11, 2011 - PennDOT taking pictures -
If you spend a lot of time driving on U.S. Route 30 and state Route 283 in Lancaster County you might want to smile, because you could be on camera.
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August 8, 2011 - Truck Sweet Truck -
Dee Kapur (TPR’76), president of the Truck Division at International Truck and Engine, knew that Carnegie Mellon’s unique collaborative approach to product development—an approach that brings together different disciplines and expertise—could uncover fresh ideas, new patents and a highly coveted marketplace advantage for International Truck and Engine.
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August 7, 2011 - The 2012 IEEE International Conference on Vehicular Electronics and Safety (ICVES’12) CALL FOR PAPERS -
The 2012 IEEE International Conference on Vehicular Electronics and Safety (ICVES’12) which is an annual forum sponsored by the IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society will take place in ?stanbul during July 24-27, 2012. It brings together researchers and practitioners to discuss vehicle electronics, and safety systems research and practice. ICVES’11 welcomes papers dealing with any aspect of vehicle electronics and safety systems.
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August 7, 2011 - The future of 911 -
Text messages have surpassed phone calls, according to industry statistics, with 2.5 billion texts sent each day compared with 2.4 billion mobile phone calls per day…
And how many texts go to emergency 911 centers? None, she said, because the dispatch center lacks the technology to accept text, photos or video, even in an age where 70 percent of 911 calls are made from mobile phones.
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August 5, 2011 - Government Worries Hackers Could Take Over Cars -
The federal government is concerned about hackers seizing control of cars — and it wants your help. In a Request for Information issued Tuesday (Aug. 2), the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) asks for “information that may be useful in identifying research needs and formulating a research roadmap to establish essential motor vehicle safeguards against cybersecurity threats and assure the reliability and safety of automotive electronic control systems.”
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August 5, 2011 - Intel puts $30M into new science and tech centers -
Intel Corp. on Wednesday said it is investing $30 million into two new Intel Science and Technology Centers at Carnegie Mellon University...
“These new ISTCs are expected to open amazing possibilities,” said Justin Rattner, Intel’s chief technology officer. “Imagine, for example, future cars equipped with embedded sensors and microprocessors to constantly collect and analyze traffic and weather data. That information could be shared and analyzed in the cloud so that drivers could be provided with suggestions for quicker and safer routes.”
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August 5, 2011 - Researchers using sensors to assess bridge safety -
Tomasz Wiltowski, professor of mechanical engineering and energy processes, is leading a team of student researchers as they design, build, install and monitor a network of sensors located on a Southern Illinois bridge. Plugged in to the Internet via wireless technology, Wiltowski and his team can watch the data as it is created on any computer.
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August 5, 2011 - How Networking Technology Will Drive the Next Bull Market in Real Estate -
New cities with smart transportation systems, in which mass transit systems communicate with roads to navigate traffic; which have location-based social networking, local shopping, community currencies, and more to serve as the foundation for an economic revival. Companies like Groupon (GRPN), Google (GOOG), Facebook, Foursquare, Craigslist, AirBnb, Zillow (Z) and others that touch upon the intersection of social networking and local communities are well-positioned for this re-positioning of value chains.
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August 4, 2011 - Dude, where’s my bus: CMU-developed transit app will help riders find a ride and a seat -
With so many questions swirling around, riders now can at least get answers to two of them — “Where’s my bus?” and “Can I get on it?” — courtesy of a new smart-phone application from Carnegie Mellon University. The free app, called Tiramisu (Italian for “pick me up”), uses crowdsourcing — a method by which information is gathered from users, rather than stemming from a central source — to report the real-time location, estimated arrival time and capacity of oncoming Port Authority buses and light-rail vehicles.
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August 4, 2011 - Indonesia to Implement Smart Transportation System -
The Indonesia Ministry of Transportation has unveiled a plan to install a smart transportation system, which will provide real-time traffic information to road users.
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August 4, 2011 - MCTC looks to fill future workforce need with degree -
The new associate’s degree program at Mountwest Community and Technical College announced July 20 at the Tri-State Airport has an unusual focus — training individuals for jobs that have not yet been identified. Dr. Randall Jones, chairman of information technology at MCTC, said the transportation technology degree, which will kick off with classes in the fall, is appropriate not only for workers already employed in the transportation industry, but is also designed to meet the needs of the workforce in the future, even if he’s not really sure yet what that will entail.
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August 4, 2011 - DoD Offering $100,000 in UAV Challenge -
The Department of Defense is offering a $100,000 prize for people to design advanced small unmanned air vehicle systems. The competition, known as the UAVForge Challenge, employs a crowdsourcing approach to collaboration for individuals and ad hoc teams to submit ideas, designs, algorithms and materials to create the next generation of UAVs.
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August 2, 2011 - 25 Great Ways Colleges Are Using Crowdsourcing -
Carnegie Mellon University has created an iPhone application that solves this problem, telling transit riders where their bus is, as well as how full it is. Where does the information come from? The people on that very bus. And the great part is that the existing riders don’t have to do anything at all — their signals from the app will indicate location, and the number of signals indicates fullness. This project is a great feat of hands-off crowdsourcing for the common good.
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August 2, 2011 - The Traffic Problems That Will Disappear When Vehicles Can Talk To Each Other -
The DOT recently announced the six winners in its Connected Vehicle Technology Challenge, which asked entrants to come up with ways that Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) technology–a secure, Wi-Fi-like open source communications platform that allows cars to communicate even while driving at high speeds–could be used to “develop new applications, devices, products, services and business solutions.” Here is some of what we might look forward to in our connected vehicle future, courtesy of the competition winners.
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August 2, 2011 - A High Accuracy Vehicle Positioning System Implemented in a Lane Assistance System when GPS Is Unavailable -
The University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies has released a report that explores a method for replacing differential GPS sensing with a high-accuracy vehicle positioning system, which fuses data from radio frequency identification (RFID) and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) curb detection.
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August 2, 2011 - Data-Driven Support Tools for Transit Data Analysis, Scheduling and Planning -
The University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies has released a report that explores the development of a route-based trip time model to support scheduling and planning while applying different transit strategies.
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August 2, 2011 - FHWA R&T Now – July 2011 -
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released the latest issue of its Research and Technology (R&T) Now news update. The update reports on research, technology, and development activities taking place within the U.S. Department of Transportation.
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August 2, 2011 - Cars that ‘talk’ to one another not far off -
The goal is a car that can drive itself, leaving the occupants to while away their time texting, reading, grooming, talking on the cell phone — in short, all the things they do now that cause crashes and tragedy. The technology for a fully automated car will be on display in Orlando this fall, and supporters say it’s closer to reality than most might imagine. “That’s our long-term vision,” said Nady Boules, director of GM’s electrical-control integration laboratory in Warren, Mich. “Cars that drive themselves and, as such, cars that do not crash.”
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August 2, 2011 - Traffic Safety for First Responders Gets High-Tech Makeover -
The belief that technology can improve roadway safety is driving public- and private-sector officials to test intelligent transportation systems that allow vehicles to communicate with the transportation infrastructure. And some of the biggest beneficiaries of these efforts could be first responders speeding to an emergency scene and the motorists they encounter en route.
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August 2, 2011 - U.S. Department of Transportation Announces Connected Vehicle Technology Challenge Winners -
(RITA) today announced six winners of a national competition seeking ideas for using wireless technology to enable vehicles to communicate with each other. The winning ideas may be incorporated into ongoing research on using technology to improve vehicle safety and transportation operations.
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August 2, 2011 - Intel Wants Your Phone to Play Nice With Your Car Alarm -
Intel’s approach is to connect your smartphone to your car’s security system. If a car thief comes along, the system will start streaming video via Wi-Fi to a cloud server when it detects him trying to break in. It’ll then alert your phone, and you can even store the video to view later. Perhaps in court as evidence against your scoundrel.
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August 2, 2011 - Northern Virginia’s Intelligent Traffic -
Simply put these systems are information and communications technologies designed specifically for application to our transportation infrastructure and vehicles, in order to enhance our safety, reduce vehicle wear, tear, and fuel consumption, and reduce our overall transit times.
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August 2, 2011 - CMU and others join manufacturing initiative -
Businesses, universities, taxpayers and other groups are being given a chance to chart the course of an advanced manufacturing initiative that President Barack Obama unveiled last month at Carnegie Mellon University’s robotic lab in Lawrenceville. A notice in the July 22 Federal Register seeks public comment on what the initiative should try to accomplish and how it should go about its work.
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August 2, 2011 - Technology Expected to Make Drive to Beach Smoother -
It’s not going to stop traffic jams during spring break, but cameras, sensors and computers are expected to make the ride from Tampa Bay to the Gulf of Mexico much easier.
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August 2, 2011 - Three SHRP 2 RFPs To Be Released Sept 20th -
Three RFPs will be released on September 20, 2011, with proposal due dates on November 1, 2011. The RFPs relate to SHRP 2 Renewal projects on modular pavements, tools for communicating railroad-DOT migation strategies, and integrating delivery of Renewal products.
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July 29, 2011 - GM Greenlights a Weird Electric Pod Car for 2020 -
Automakers generally leave their “visions of the future” on the auto-show floor. Not General Motors (GM), which is so enamored of its pod-like, drives-by-itself EN-V that it plans to put it into global production around 2020. The weird thing is that a slightly more practical version of this $10,000, two-wheeled phone booth could be an international hit in the world’s cities.
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July 29, 2011 - Wireless sensor to monitor structural integrity of bridges -
Now University of Maryland electrical engineering researcher Mehdi Kalantari has developed a tiny wireless sensor that monitors and transmits minute-by-minute data on a bridge’s structural integrity that he estimates is one-hundredth the cost of a wired network approach.
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July 28, 2011 - CMU Unveils App To Help You Find Your Bus -
Thanks to a new iPhone application, Tiramisu, developed at Carnegie Mellon University, riders will no longer need to fret.
Tiramisu, an Italian word meaning, “pick me up,” is a user-friendly application that uses a rider’s iPhone to signal the location and occupancy level of the Port Authority of Allegheny County buses in real time, tracking arrival and departure times for each bus.
The new app was developed by researchers in the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Accessible Public Transportation (RERC-APT), supported in part by CMU’s Traffic21 initiative. The free application is already available for downloading at the iTunes AppStore.
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July 28, 2011 - Why the Future of Transportation Is All About Real-Time Data -
In order to tackle urban transportation challenges in cities around the world, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the National Research Foundation of Singapore launched a five-year cooperative project in 2009 — Future Urban Mobility (FM) — to look at new models and technology tools aimed at sustainability.
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July 28, 2011 - Phone App Could Keep an Eye on Your Ride -
Intel is testing technology that would issue an alert if someone hit your parked car, and could capture video if a thief made off with it.
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July 28, 2011 - State sees green in red-light cameras -
Six years ago, Philadelphia began using cameras at red lights to ticket dangerous drivers. Will other towns and cities across Pennsylvania soon get the green light? A panel appointed by Gov. Tom Corbett has recommended a statewide expansion of traffic-light cameras. The Transportation Funding Advisory Commission says it could generate more money for highway and bridge repairs, and it could make roads safer.
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July 28, 2011 - GM’s Enhanced Vision System -
To crack these problems and increase the system’s usefulness, GM’s Research and Development, Carnegie Mellon, The University of Southern California and several other institutions are working together to create a new HUD dubbed the “Enhanced Vision System.” While older HUDs use special glass to reflect lights in an in-dash display toward the driver, this new system draws the display directly by shooting ultraviolet lasers at a photoreactive coating on the windshield.
The Enhanced Vision System does a lot more than display information from the dash. Boundary lines for roadways and lanes can be drawn onto the glass, aiding drivers in foggy and dark conditions. GPS information is also integrated into the system, identifying routes by drawing them directly in view of the road. Once the destination is in view, the system can draw a circle around the location.
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July 25, 2011 - Can Your Car Be Hacked? – Feature -
Not too long ago, securing a car meant popping the faceplate off the CD player, slapping a Club over the steering wheel, and locking the doors. As vehicles’ electronic systems evolve, however, automobiles are starting to require the same protection as laptop computers and e-commerce servers. Currently, there’s nothing to stop anyone with malicious intent and some computer-programming skills from taking command of your vehicle. After gaining access, a hacker could control everything from which song plays on the radio to whether the brakes work.
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July 25, 2011 - Ford Proves the Blind Can Drive a Stick -
Teaching the blind to drive is an increasingly realistic goal as cameras and sensors become sophisticated and cheap enough that they might one day substitute for sight. We’re already seen an autonomous Audi TT reach the summit of Pikes Peak, and a blind driver took a lap of Daytona International Speedway. He guided the car using tactile prompts that responded to visual data provided by in-car technology.
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July 25, 2011 - Inrix connects with $37M venture round to drive global growth -
Inrix has raised $37 million in venture capital to help the Kirkland-based traffic information tech company expand into fast-growing international markets such as China. The company, which launched in 2004, has partnerships with auto makers Ford, Toyota and Audi, as well partnerships working with Microsoft and government transportation agencies such as the Washington Department of Transportation.
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July 25, 2011 - Port Authority starting ‘smart card’ fare system -
The Port Authority’s conversion to a fare collection system using electronic smart cards will get its first big test starting next week. University of Pittsburgh faculty, staff and students will begin using the technology Aug. 1, tapping their university ID cards on a target on the new fareboxes that have been installed on buses and light-rail vehicles.
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July 25, 2011 - Call for Presentations and Papers Third International Conference on Urban Transportation Systems -
The Committee on Public Transportation of the Transportation & Development Institute (T&DI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) invites you to submit papers for presentation at the ASCE’s Third International Conference on Urban Transportation Systems to be held in November, 2012 in Paris, France.
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July 25, 2011 - Automakers Moving Software Teams To Silicon Valley -
It’s smart, then, that the often-slow-moving automakers are setting up satellite research and development centers in Silicon Valley. This week, Renault-Nissan joined GM, BMW and Volkswagen in opening an R&D office in northern California, considered the heart of U.S. technology innovation.
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July 25, 2011 - Carpooling a click away with online ridesharing -
In Seattle, two companies are using technology to connect drivers and riders. Both launched this year with on-demand ridesharing websites and smart-phone apps.
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July 25, 2011 - Idaho company gets $750,000 for solar parking lot -
Company founders Scott and Julie Brusaw plan to use the cash to create a prototype parking lot for testing. But their real dream is for a road system built of 12-foot-by-12-foot solar panels rather than traditional asphalt. Brusaw estimates the panels might cost three times more than asphalt but would produce electricity that could be sent back to the power grid, helping governments and private industry pay for them.
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July 25, 2011 - Presentations Available: Sixth SHRP 2 Safety Research Symposium July 14–15, 2011 -
The Sixth Annual SHRP 2 Safety Research Symposium was held on July 14–15, 2011, in Washington, D.C. The agenda for the symposium is available as a PDF. The purpose of this symposium was to share progress on SHRP 2 safety projects and to serve as a forum for the exchange of ideas among researchers and practitioners from the private and public sectors.
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July 25, 2011 - Local Motors Shifts Crowd-Sourcing Into High Gear -
Local Motors bills itself as an open-source car company, which means it leverages the spirit of Web 2.0 to bring together transportation designers, engineers and industrial designers, and car enthusiasts to “co-create” a vehicle, which it then produces, in limited runs, at a local micro-factory…
It’s an accomplishment that won firm accolades from President Obama last month when he visited Carnegie Mellon University on a tour to promote the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, a program uniting industry, universities, and the federal government to jumpstart the manufacturing sector.
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July 21, 2011 - IT industry curtails travel habit -
BANGKOK – For the first time, the Information and Communications Technologies sector has been given an official mandate to start exploring ways to help save the environment by promoting cutbacks in the travel and transportation sector. The mandate, which could present significant problems especially for the economics of the traditional meetings and business travel sector, is contained in a report issued after the 6th International Telecommunications Union Symposium on ICTs, The Environment and Climate Change held in Accra, Ghana from 7 to 8 July, 2011.
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July 21, 2011 - Ohio State Students Employ Supercomputer to Design 400-MPH Electric Car -
A team of engineering students at The Ohio State University’s (OSU) Center for Automotive Research (CAR) recently began running aerodynamics simulations at the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC), one of the first steps in the long and careful process of designing, building and racing the fourth iteration of their record-breaking, alternative-fuel streamliner.fluctuations.
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July 21, 2011 - Feds’ strength may be in providing data, not building apps -
Federal agencies can often do more to improve public knowledge and safety by providing raw data to private sector mobile app developers than by trying to create the programs themselves, officials told an industry audience Tuesday.
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July 21, 2011 - Wheels turning on bike-sharing proposal -
The email announced that BikePGH is partnering with Carnegie Mellon University professor Robert Hampshire and a group of graduate students from CMU’s Heinz College to develop a business plan for a Pittsburgh bike-sharing system. “Meanwhile,” Bricker’s message continued, “we are already exploring different business models and potential funding streams.”
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July 21, 2011 - Ford showcasing vehicle-to-vehicle communication for crash avoidance; -
Several automakers offer collision avoidance systems (e.g., infrared-based) on their higher-end models; this is not V2V. A 2010 NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) analysis concluded that V2V systems potentially could address 79% of all vehicle target crashes, 81% of all light-vehicle target crashes, and 71% of all heavy-truck target crashes annually.
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July 21, 2011 - 2011 Smarter Planet Innovation Awards -
IBM is seeking to partner with universities who desire to create and teach innovative curriculum that will empower and inspire the next generation of leaders with insights into how technology can help tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
Note: Nominations will open the week of May 16 and remain open until early September 2011. We will notify the award winners by email in October 2011.
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July 21, 2011 - Safety system can avert low-speed crashes -
The study by the Highway Loss Data Institute found that 2010 Volvo XC60s outfitted with a standard collision avoidance feature called City Safety are far less likely to be involved in low-speed, front-to-rear crashes than other midsize SUVs without the system. Insurance claims that pay for damage to vehicles hit by an at-fault driver were filed 27 percent less often for the XC60 than comparable vehicles, the study said. Bodily injury claims were 51 percent less frequent, it said… The system doesn’t involve a warning to the driver that a crash is imminent. Rather, City Safety automatically brakes to avoid a front-to-rear crash.
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July 20, 2011 - 300 taxis to accept Octopus Card payment -
“As most of the public transportation modes are Octopus-enabled, many people would like us to extend the Octopus service to taxis,” said Sunny Cheung, chief executive officer of the OCL.
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July 20, 2011 - Car apps: the future of the vehicle industry -
Car companies are trying to get social, and 2011 could be the year of the car as a major platform for social and other types of apps.
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July 20, 2011 - IEEE Announces Call for Papers for First IEEE International Electric Vehicle Conference (IEVC) -
IEVC will provide an interactive forum for members of the rapidly growing electric mobility ecosystem to exchange ideas and discuss new trends in technology, engineering, standards and deployment aspects of the electric vehicle industry on a global scale.
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July 20, 2011 - “Smart” Traffic Lights To Make Debut -
The new “smart” traffic light system—which will be used in Midtown Manhattan—allows traffic engineers to conduct on-the-spot monitoring of traffic flow, quickly identify congestion choke points as they occur and remotely adjust traffic signal patterns to clear traffic jams, with the touch of a button.
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July 20, 2011 - Reducing Pedestrian Delay at Traffic Signals -
The New Zealand Transport Agency has released a report that explores methods of reducing pedestrian delay at signalized intersections.
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July 20, 2011 - How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data -
TRB Special Report 304: How We Travel: A Sustainable National Program for Travel Data assesses the current state of travel data at the federal, state, and local levels and defines an achievable and sustainable travel data system that could support public and private transportation decision making.
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July 20, 2011 - Communicating Transportation Information During Emergency Situations to John and Jane Q. Public -
The TRB Technical Activities Division’s Planning and Environment Group is holding its fifth annual competition to find top methods for communicating transportation concepts to non-professional audiences. Entries, which should focus on best practices in communicating transportation information to the public during emergency situations, are due by August 5, 2011.
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July 20, 2011 - Greenhouse-gas inventory calculations ‘too simplistic’ -
Many US cities need to improve the way that they calculate their greenhouse-gas (GHG) inventories and their climate action plans, say researchers from the University of Texas and Carnegie Mellon University, US…
They also found three main sources of uncertainty and variability – weather impacts on building energy use; measurement and sample errors associated with on-road personal transportation;
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July 18, 2011 - How Intelligent Cars Will Make Driving Easier and Greener -
But in some ways, the world of self-governing cars is already upon us. Using relatively simple software and adjustments to existing hardware, major automakers in the U.S. and Europe are making cars work smarter and greener in a way that has nothing to do with hybrid engines or alternative fuels. Connected to each other and to the cloud, cars will be able to make their own decisions — so the future of driving, put simply, will be largely out of human hands…
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University built a simulation that can prove such a system’s safety, even with multiple cars performing multiple complicated tasks. A team led by Andre Platzer, an assistant professor of computer science, started with just two cars in one lane. Then they added more cars to show it can work with an arbitrary number of vehicles, and added more lanes to show that number can vary, too. Ultimately, the system remains crash-proof regardless of the vehicles or lanes involved — on a straight highway, that is. Future simulations will have to account for variables like curved roads, Platzer said in a CMU release.
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July 18, 2011 - The end is near for New York City’s Metrocard -
Several years ago, fare payment system provider ACS Transportation Solutions installed special turnstiles in the New York City subway and bus system run by the Metropolitan Transit Authority as well as on New Jersey Transit’s system…
What happened to the project, and what did they learn? I spoke with ACS Transport vice president Mike Nash.
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July 18, 2011 - The government tests ‘Smart Transportation System’ -
The aim of this project is to test and introduce a new transportation system that can help people reduce traffic and vehicle overcrowding on the roads as well as reduce pollution in Sri Lanka…
He says the www (online) system simply allows vehicle drivers to offer their extra seat or seats to a rider in exchange for a fee to reimburse for the petrol consumed on the trip.
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July 18, 2011 - New Hudson bus program can get riders picked up at home -
In a move local leaders say could revolutionize transportation, bus riders may soon arrange to have a bus to pick them up at their homes or a store with a smartphone through a new Smart Bus pilot program. The town recently received a grant from a regional planning agency to buy and develop software that will allow residents to use smartphones to hail a bus.
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July 18, 2011 - Traffic and How to Avoid Future ‘Carmaggedons’ -
With the availability of this data, network operators — think your city or state’s departments of transportation— can make more intelligent decisions about traffic flow, such as how to adjust the timing of traffic lights; when to change messages on digital billboards; how to time meter ramps and so on. Using predictive software, cities can forecast traffic buildup in specific locations up to sixty minutes in advance and offer alternative routes to commuters.
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July 18, 2011 - Travelers checks: Automatic License Plate Readers track your every move -
ALPRs are not ordinary cameras. Attached to police cruisers, or fixed on telephone poles or other stationary places, the cameras snap an image of nearly every license plate they encounter. The device produces a file for each image captured, which includes searchable text displaying the time, date and GPS location of the car when and where the plate was ‘read’. This information is fed into a database, where it can be shared with other agencies and databases, and “mined” or analyzed.
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July 15, 2011 - MTA casts net for new smart phone transit apps -
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is hoping software entrepreneurs will answer the call for a fresh take on transit-related apps that will keep smart phone-toting riders informed throughout their travels. The parent organization of Metro-North Railroad this week announced MTA App Quest — a contest offering a $5,000 grand prize to the software developer that creates the best application to help rail and bus riders or motorists navigate the transit or road systems maintained by the MTA.
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July 15, 2011 - Israel’s public bike rental services to extend outside Tel Aviv -
The Tel Aviv municipality is working to promote alternative transport in the city in an effort to wean residents away from private vehicles. Haaretz has learned that the Tel Aviv Economic Development Authority is negotiating with Car2Go, an hourly car rental company that maintains vehicles on Tel Aviv parking lots, which can be accessed with a smart card. The authority hopes to be able to offer a joint discount card for Tel-Ofan and Car2Go. “It gives you the perfect transportation solution,” said Keren.”If you need to travel short distances, take the bicycle, and if you need to get out of town, take a car.”
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July 14, 2011 - New digital signs put MATA trolley riders up to speed on schedules and other information along routes -
They’ll display the date, time, when the next trolley is due and other important information. The signs are one component of MATA’s three-year, $10 million Intelligent Transportation Systems, an information technology project for the entire fleet, said spokeswoman Alison Burton. The project is funded with federal, state and local dollars and will include global positioning systems for buses, passenger counters, camera systems and other technology.
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July 14, 2011 - Calgary Transit rolling out tech improvements -
Smart cards, too, will provide more payment options to Calgarians, while work is currently underway to get electronic display boards on all C-Train platforms showing real-time arrival information for trains starting in August. Other improvements like an improved trip planning service on Calgary Transit’s website is set for launch end of the year. The smart card payment system is due for launch next summer, while real-time arrival information for buses is set for the summer of 2013.
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July 14, 2011 - Only on 4: Driverless Cars Coming to Nevada -
RENO, Nev.–Nevada is last on a lot of lists, but now we are first when it comes to saying yes to driverless cars. Next March, we’ll see Google cars mapping our roadways. News 4’s Mackenzie Warren has the story you’ll only see on News 4… The Nevada Legislature gave Google’s self-driving robotic cars the green light. Now, we’re waiting on the Department of Transportation for the rules that will accompany the new auto technology.
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July 14, 2011 - ‘Talking’ cars could reduce motorway pile-ups -
Scientists from the University of Bologna in Italy have developed software that lets cars “communicate” with one another on the road. Similar technology had been used before but this time, said the team, cars would be able to “know” what had happened kilometres ahead…
Road tests of the software are imminent and will be carried out in August 2011 on the streets and motorways of Los Angeles in conjunction with car maker Toyota.
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July 13, 2011 - Connected Vehicle Driver Acceptance Clinics coming soon to a community near you -
The charming and heroic stars of Cars 2 and Transformers are not the only talking cars hitting American cities this summer. At DOT, we call them Connected Vehicles: cars, trucks, buses, and other vehicles fitted with technology that allows them–like their big-screen counterparts–to communicate with each other and with roadway infrastructure like traffic lights, dangerous road segments, and railroad crossings.
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July 13, 2011 - Army, Car Makers Push Ahead With Driverless Vehicle Research -
When it comes to concepts for vehicles that can drive themselves on highways or city streets, the military and automakers have been working on similar paths for several years. The Army has looked into trucks that move autonomously as soldiers keep watch for roadside bombs or ambushes. Japanese, German and U.S. car manufacturers are investing research and development funding into the same idea, but for everyday life.
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July 12, 2011 - Washington police to begin using license recognition cameras -
One police car from each department will receive a light-bar-mounted camera that will scan nearby license plates, converting the images into text and comparing them with a database that includes information about wanted criminals, Megan’s Law offenders, Amber Alerts and stolen vehicles.
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July 12, 2011 - Packed in a Box, Another Transportation Idea for Cities -
LONDON — As car-sharing services continue to evolve, so should the vehicles used in those programs, say James Brooks and Richard Bone, recent graduates of the Vehicle Design program at the Royal College of Art. The former classmates recently opened their own firm, Brooks & Bone, and designed a vehicle specifically for urban car-sharing services that resembles the prototypical box on wheels. And that, precisely, is the point.
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July 12, 2011 - Portland tests smart phone parking app -
Starting next month, some drivers will have the option to use an app on their smart phone to pay to park. Drivers will register their credit card and their license plate online. Then when they choose a spot, they’ll enter the Smart Park number and their plate number into the app along with how long they’d like to park.
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July 12, 2011 - Development of Mobile Accessible Pedestrian Signals (MAPS) for Blind Pedestrians at Signalized Intersections -
The University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies has released a report that explores the development of the mobile accessible pedestrian signals (MAPS) prototype that is designed to help support decision making by blind pedestrians at signalized intersections.
The MAPS system integrates Smartphone, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and traffic signal controller technologies to provide signal phasing and timing, and intersection geometry information to pedestrians at signalized intersections.
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July 12, 2011 - Legal Arrangements for Use and Control of Real-Time Data -
TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Legal Research Results Digest 37: Legal Arrangements for Use and Control of Real-Time Data is designed to help transit officials understand the legal options and limitations for real-time data ownership, protection, and use.
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July 12, 2011 - Toyota launches new intelligent navigation system to reduce accidents -
The five main characteristics of this new system are the following. The system informs the driver about a red light with audio and video warning. The navigation system informs of “stop sign” and has a “vehicle order” notification. Another characteristic informs the driver of a presence of a blind spot. The 5th one notifies the driver of Green Light to reduce congestion.
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July 11, 2011 - Phone Data to Give a Picture of Traffic Shutdown in L.A. -
But KABC, the local flagship station for ABC, sees the closure as an opportunity to experiment with technology tools as its plans to report on the mess as it unfolds. The station has partnered with Waze, an Israeli technology company that makes a navigation app for smartphones, to give drivers a real-time picture of what is happening on the roads. Waze’s app tracks the movement of each of its users to get a sense of traffic, and then directs them to quicker routes based on the data it collects. The company says it has 180,000 users in the Los Angeles area.
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July 11, 2011 - App designed to make travel by public transit easier -
We know how it is … you would use public transportation more often, but it’s such a hassle trying to figure out which bus, train or tram to take, where to transfer, and what to do if your plans are altered. In the future, however, that might not be a problem. Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems is working on SMART-WAY, a mobile phone app that would make using public transit as simple as following the directions on a vehicle navigation system – you would just indicate your destination, and it would show you how to get there using public services, updating its information in real time.
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July 11, 2011 - Average Joes Wanted for First Trials of Vehicle-to-Vehicle Tech Read more: http://wot.motortrend.com/average-joes-wanted-for-first-trials-of-vehicle- -
We’ve all joked about driverless cars in the future, but as we have witnessed, such innovations are quickly becoming a reality. Just like our cellphones, our cars are getting smarter too, with automakers introducing advanced safety features like blind spot monitoring, rear backup sensors, and even brake assist programs that are capable of stopping a vehicle in its tracks. Now vehicles are able to ‘communicate’ with one another, and if you live in Michigan, you could be eligible to test out just how smart these cars are.
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July 11, 2011 - New Technology May Prevent Road Kill -
The goal is to create a comprehensive database of where wildlife cross the road, so drivers can be more aware of hot spots on Highway 20 from Ashton up to the Montana border…
The agencies have created the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Information System website, where, by the use of a smart phone, anyone can upload information about roadkills, sightings of wildlife and GPS location-tagged pictures.
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July 11, 2011 - EU Puts Aside 6 Million for Gas-Guzzling Flying Car -
The European Union is going to set aside €4.2 million ($6.2M USD) for a project known as myCopter. This is a Personal Aerial Vehicle (PAV) that would try to reduce the traffic congestion in major European cities. The flying car would be used at low altitudes to travel to and from work. As myCopter would be flying below 2000 feet, it wouldn’t bother other air traffic, and would be fully or partially autonomous so you wouldn’t need ground-based air traffic control.
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July 11, 2011 - The New Robo Cars -
But when Kevin Harper brought home his Volvo XC60 with the turbo V-6 engine, he didn’t really spend any time reveling in the hepped-up horsepower or the 12-speaker surround sound. For the 36-year-old Clinton, Md., patent examiner, the real wow factor came when he tested the high-tech “queue assist” feature of his adaptive cruise control.Through five miles of stop-and-go rush hour traffic and numerous red lights, he marveled (nervously) as the car did all its own braking, without his foot ever touching the pedal. “It’s like being a backseat driver, only in the driver’s seat,” says Harper…
Many of the technologies, like Harper’s adaptive cruise control, have been around for years, but they’re being continually tweaked to help vehicles operate more autonomously. And new smart-car features keep coming, from proactive safety systems (like cars that self-slam their brakes for errant pedestrians) to parental controls that can limit radio volume for teen drivers. Of course, the biggest tech trend hitting the auto world is all that voice-activated, wireless Web surfing we’ll be doing, having the car read our texts aloud or find the nearest Mongolian barbecue joint.
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July 8, 2011 - USDOT Connected Vehicle Testing To Take Place At Michigan International Speedway -
Michigan International Speedway has been chosen as one of only six venues in the country to host U.S. Department of Transportation testing for wireless vehicle-to-vehicle safety communication technologies. The first in a series of six Light Vehicle Driver Acceptance Clinics will be held at MIS starting in August to help the federal government and the automobile industry learn more about how drivers respond to communication-based safety warnings that are intended to reduce traffic accidents and save lives. So Brooklyn, Mich., joins a list of other cities including Dallas, San Francisco, Orlando, Brainerd, Minn., and Blacksburg, Va., that will also host the trials.
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July 7, 2011 - Connected cars: take one to ease congestion -
By: Hans-Hendrik Puvogel, INRIX Europe
However, with the staggering wealth of technology now at their disposal, modern travellers can access up to the minute ‘real time’ updates on demand via smart-phones and tablet computers. But this is just the beginning: with traffic technology advancing at a rapid pace, and internet-connected vehicles being introduced en masse, what effect will this have on the development of travel technology, and how will it transform the journey of tomorrow?
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July 7, 2011 - Toll lanes coming to 10 and 110 freeways in Los Angeles County -
Officials broke ground on what will be Los Angeles County’s first freeway toll lanes, taking a gamble that drivers will be willing to pay significant sums to avoid rush-hour traffic…
“Today marks a major milestone,” Villaraigosa said, adding that the HOT lanes could be expanded to other freeways if the pilot program is successful.
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July 7, 2011 - New York Agencies Recognized for Giving Commuters Real-Time Information to Avoid Traffic Congestion -
The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) today recognized the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and TRANSCOM, a coalition of 16 transportation and public safety agencies in the New York City region, for providing area commuters and travelers with real-time information to help avoid traffic congestion and find the most convenient travel routes.
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July 7, 2011 - Three carpooling apps to cut commuting costs -
Now that hybrid vehicles lost their single-occupancy privileges in California carpool lanes, ride sharing could start to sound a lot more appealing to commuters. To make it easier to fill empty seats and get back into HOV lanes, commuters can download free mobile apps that help match drivers with riders.
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July 7, 2011 - Transit Safety Retrofit Package (TRP) Development -
As a part of the Connected Vehicles project the USDOT issued a Sources Sought announcement on June 29 to identify the availability and capability of qualified sources to perform the development of Transit Safety Retrofit Package, and to obtain industry feedback and input on the draft Statement of Work.
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July 7, 2011 - ITS America Smart Transportation Technology Showcase & World Congress Preview -
Did you miss ITS America’s Smart Transportation Technology Showcase & Reception in June? Be sure to check out this two minute YouTube clip with interviews from exhibitors and sound bites from several Members of Congress, including ITS Caucus CO-Chairman Russ Carnahan, D-Mo., and Corrine Brown, D-Fla. More than 200 industry professionals and congressional staff attended the event, including a dozen members of Congress. Get all of the information you need on the 18th World Congress on ITS at www.itsworldcongress.org — the biggest transportation event of 2011!
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July 7, 2011 - Jacksonville buses getting automated payment system in 2012 -
Starting next year, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority will switch to a new, automated payment system with a smart card for bus passengers. The smart card, which looks like a credit card, will replace the 20 or so different bus passes that exist today, part of a system that has been in place for a generation.
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July 7, 2011 - Abstracts for Carbon Management Conference due July 18 -
This inaugural conference draws professionals from all engineering disciplines to share their expertise and provide their perspective on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to changing climate. The conference will focus on engineering perspectives regarding key issues, including technologies, strategies, policies, and management systems.
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July 7, 2011 - Proposals for Exploratory Advanced Research -
FHWA issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the Exploratory Advanced Research Program, soliciting for high-risk, high-payoff research and innovations to solve critical highway challenges. During 2009 and 2010 FHWA engaged stakeholders from within and outside the traditional highway research community to identify topics of research that promise transformation and possible breakthroughs in highway technology, processes and policies…
The Broad Agency Announcement (number DTFH61-1-R-00027) is open until 4:00 pm EST, September 15, 2011
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July 7, 2011 - Being Able to Live a Spontaneous Life: Easter Seals Project ACTION 2010 Accomplishments Report -
Easter Seals Project ACTION has released a report that explores the organization’s accomplishments during 2010 that supported its mission to promote universal access to transportation for people with disabilities through training, technical assistance, outreach, and applied research projects.
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July 7, 2011 - The Nature of Errors Made by Drivers -
Austroads has released a report that explores the nature of errors made by drivers.
The report is free, but you must register before you may download the report.
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July 7, 2011 - New message signs, cameras coming to Ky. highways in 5 counties -
Seven new side-mounted message signs and eight cameras are being installed by Arrow Electric of Louisville under a $1.5 million contract. The devices will be part of the cabinet’s overall intelligent transportation system, which relays information to motorists about traffic incidents and delays.
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July 7, 2011 - A Roboticist’s Trip From Mines to the Moon -
Robots created by William “Red” Whittaker have crawled into mines and volcanoes, crossed deserts, won a 60-mile road race, helped clean up nuclear waste and harvested alfalfa. He has sheaves of academic awards and more than a dozen U.S. patents. “I have a very robot-centric view of the universe,” he said. Now the 63-year-old professor of robotics at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University is gambling on his boldest venture yet: designing and making a spacecraft capable of carrying one of his robots to the moon.
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July 7, 2011 - Sobi Social Bikes Offers Cheaper Bikeshare -
Unlike other social biking concepts and designs, the Sobi concept involves a GPS-enabled electronic lockbox that comes attached to the bicycle, allowing it to be parked at any traditional bike rack. Designed specially for urban transportation and tourist destinations, Sobi is equipped with a sophisticated networking system that allows for easy management of the bikeshare system.
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July 7, 2011 - Car-sharing idea gets around -
“The basic idea behind it is that there are millions of cars that sit idle 22 hours a day. We have developed some novel technology to make it easier for people to share those cars.”
A virtual marketplace, Getaround puts pre-screened car owners and vetted renters together and able to communicate via their smartphones or the Web.
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July 7, 2011 - CMU Develops Self-Driving Cars That Are Impossible To Crash -
Do you remember the movie Minority Report, where the cars seemingly drove themselves, navigating between each other while changing lanes? It seems kind of scary with all the cars zipping by each other at such high speeds, they look like they might crash into each other, but surprisingly they don’t. Well it looks like we may not have to wait that long to experience a future like that, thanks to CMU (Carnegie Mellon University) who are developing cars that not only can drive themselves, but also avoid crashing into each other.
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July 7, 2011 - Xerox PARC: Still Inventing Cool New Stuff After All These Years -
Refocusing on transportation, Burns notes that most road sensing systems to date have involved punitive measures to make drivers behave better: don’t drive too fast, or park in the wrong place. But she says PARC is working on ways to help cities deliver services in more helpful ways. One example she offers: imagine cities could provide a way to make it easier for drivers to find empty parking places in urban areas via the use of “intelligent sensing.” She notes that ACS already has relationships with just about every state in the country for the delivery of some services around transportation.
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July 6, 2011 - An Executive Viewpoint: Scott J. McCormick, President, Connected Vehicle Trade Association -
Scott J. McCormick, President of the Connected Vehicle Trade Association defines the ‘connected vehicle’ and he discloses his thoughts about what’s happening in the market today, providing his predictions for its future. Find out what he thinks here…
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July 6, 2011 - IDC: Mobile app downloads to soar -
People will download more than 182 billion mobile apps in 2015, according to a new report from IDC. That’s up from 10.7 billion apps downloaded in 2010, according to Scott Ellison, the author of the report…
However, more interesting than the volume of app downloads will be the way that app developers monetize the apps in the future, IDC’s Ellison said.
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July 5, 2011 - TIGER grants are here again -
I’m pleased to announce that we’re making an additional $527 million available for a third round of TIGER funding. We’re calling it TIGER 3, and we’re encouraging states, cities, and local governments to submit their applications.
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June 30, 2011 - When your car helps you drive -
The Department of Transportation estimates that the Connected Vehicle Program could reduce non-impaired traffic crashes by up to 81%, Belcher said. Although that system is still in the future, others are being used now and can help make road travel safer. Here’s a sampling of some of the technological innovations that caught my eye.
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June 30, 2011 - Challenges to red light cameras span US -
In more than 500 cities and towns in 25 states, silent sentries keep watch over intersections, snapping photos and shooting video of drivers who run red lights. The cameras are on the job in metropolises like Houston and Chicago and in small towns like Selmer, Tenn., population 4,700, where a single camera setup monitors traffic at the intersection of U.S. Highway 64 and Mulberry Avenue.
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June 29, 2011 - Secretary LaHood Announces $101.4 Million to Promote Innovative Clean-Fuel Technologies in Transit -
The money is being provided competitively through the Federal Transit Administration’s Fiscal Year 2011 Sustainability Initiative, which includes funding from two programs: $51.5 million from FTA’s Clean Fuels Grant Program and $49.9 million from FTA’s Transit Investment in Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) III Program.
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June 29, 2011 - Nevada paves way to getting robotic cars on the road -
The state passed Bill 511 (PDF document) last week, authorizing executives at the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles to begin coming up with a set of rules of the road for autonomous, or self-driving, vehicles. This is the first step in what could be a lengthy process in getting autonomous cars, which are designed to use artificial intelligence, computer sensors and GPS instead of human drivers, on the nation’s roads. But the move must be seen as good news to companies such as Google and General Motors, along with researchers at institutions such as Stanford, Cornell and Carnegie Mellon University. All of these organizations have been working on autonomous cars.
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June 28, 2011 - Zurich Busses Outfitted with Air Quality Sensors for Mobile Monitoring -
Laboratories at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EFPL) in Switzerland and one at ETH Zurich are working on a better way to collect data about cities’ air quality. Researchers have started OpenSense, a project that will test out if using the existing infrastructures of public transportation and mobile phone networks could be a smart solution for monitoring pollution.
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June 28, 2011 - Seamless Journeys from Door to Door -
The U.K. Campaign for Better Transport has released a report that explores opportunities and challenges for improving door-to-door transport.
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June 28, 2011 - Emerging Issues in Safe and Sustainable Mobility for Older People -
TRB is sponsoring a conference on Emerging Issues in Safe and Sustainable Mobility for Older People on August 30–September 1, 2011, in Washington, D.C. The conference will focus on emerging issues, research implementation, and programs related to safe and sustainable methods to enhance the mobility of older people. Early bird registration expires July 15, 2011.
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June 28, 2011 - Federal Player of the Week: Guiding new transportation technologies -
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June 28, 2011 - Just a Few Talking Cars Could Eliminate Gridlock -
German researchers have found that just five cars in a thousand communicating with one another is all it takes to reduce congestion. That may not sound like a whole lot of automobiles, but it is sufficiently representative of traffic flow to allow traffic engineers to determine how best to manage traffic and alleviate rush-hour jams and construction delays. The finding comes as German officials prepare to roll out a vehicle-to-vehicle communication to alleviate traffic congestion and a growing number of automakers explore the technology.
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June 27, 2011 - ParkPGH Awarded Best App in Pittsburgh Magazine -
See link to ParkPGH app here
See link to Pittsburgh Magazine Article here -
June 27, 2011 - The wave will supplant the swipe -
Your mobile phone may soon replace your wallet. In the near future, the need to carry cash, credit and debit cards, loyalty/reward cards and transit passes may be replaced by a smart phone and a quick wave over a retailer’s scanner.
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June 27, 2011 - GE Transportation launches signalling systems centre in Italy -
GE Transportation has announced the inauguration of a centre of global excellence for leading railway signalling systems located in Sesto Fiorentino in Tuscany, near Florence. The new centre works on the research and development of innovative technologies for the transportation sector, including software and hardware platforms for railway signalling and urban transport systems such as subways.
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June 24, 2011 - Bill Ford: A future beyond traffic gridlock -
Video
Bill Ford is a car guy — his great-grandfather was Henry Ford, and he grew up inside the massive Ford Motor Co. So when he worries about cars’ impact on the environment, and about our growing global gridlock problem, it’s worth a listen. His vision for the future of mobility includes “smart roads,” even smarter public transport and going green like never before.
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June 24, 2011 - Obama unveils $500 million manufacturing plan here -
President Obama used a tour of Carnegie Mellon University’s robotics lab as a symbol for his call for “an all-hands-on-deck effort” to reinvigorate American manufacturing…
Mr. Obama announced a $500 million proposal to better harness the efforts of universities, corporations and the government to spread innovation in manufacturing.CMU is one of the first six universities enlisted in that effort to ensure breakthroughs in manufacturing techniques are spread through the economy as rapidly as possible.
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June 24, 2011 - City Announces App Contest for Metro Chicago, Puts Data Online -
The contest, Apps for Metro Chicago, IL, offers more than $50,000 in awards to apps created in categories of transportation, community and overall benefit for Metro Chicago. Together, the governments have made almost 200 sets of data available to the public for software developers to use.
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June 24, 2011 - Pomp and Unusual Circumstance – Universities and the ITS Profession -
While the university-based development of new ITS technologies, central traffic control strategies, and more robust detection systems and algorithms are critical to the future of the industry, very few achieve commercial success due to the traffic control equipment manufacturer’s predominant belief that pure academics fail to fully understand the art of design for standards compliance and manufacturability…
It would be mutually beneficial to the ITS academic community and the premier traffic control equipment manufacturers, to create an ITS EIT (Engineer-in-Training) internship program, where as a required part of a new traffic engineer’s education, they are forced to learn what it takes in the private sector to design and productize new hardware, software and applications.
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June 24, 2011 - Volkswagen Looks To Future, Toys With Temporary Autopilot System -
The Temporary Auto Pilot (TAP) system works by using a number of passive safety features already found in vehicles such as adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist. However, since it uses the driving aids, the driver always remains in control of the vehicle and can override the system at any time. The TAP system uses a “pilot mode” similar to active cruise control systems that will keep at a set speed and distance set by the driver and will keep the car continuing within a lane. The system will also slow the vehicle before any bends in the road and has a stop-start mode for driving within traffic. The TAP system can work at speeds up to 80 mph. Unlike past systems developed by the HAVEit project, the TAP uses only technology that is already in production, and, in theory, could be integrated into vehicles today.
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June 23, 2011 - Ford Looks to Protect Customers Against Bad Drivers, Smartphones -
At a special press event at Ford Motor Company’s (F) Research and Innovation Center, the company presented a variety of new technologies, ranging from infotainment to “green” transportation. However, the real star of the show — and its focus — was Ford’s ambitious safety agenda.
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June 23, 2011 - HopStop to Offer More Than Directions -
Its core function novel no longer, HopStop on Monday announced a major expansion of its vision, branching off from transport and into a more general-use lifestyle app for urban dwellers. Users of the company’s Web site will be able to rent cars by the hour, book limos, find reviews of local businesses, see daily deals and check listings of local events. The company is also adding a social component, where users can tell their friends on Facebook and Twitter where they will be at a certain time.
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June 23, 2011 - Rep. Hanna: Technology Can Help DOTs Do More with Less -
Members of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America’s Congressional Roundtable were joined Wednesday morning by Rep. Richard Hanna, R-New York, for a breakfast on Capitol Hill to discuss the surface transportation reauthorization bill.
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June 23, 2011 - ITS America News: Preliminary Program now available for the 18th World Congress on ITS -
ITS America has released the Preliminary Program for the 18th World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems and ITS America’s Annual Meeting, an interactive e-brochure that is a one-stop resource for the latest information on the major activities planned for the conference in Orlando, Fla. from Oct. 16–20, 2011.
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June 23, 2011 - Obama to visit CMU robotics lab -
Obama on Friday morning will visit Carnegie Mellon University
, where he will tour the National Robotics Engineering Center and learn about its work on modeling, simulation and robots. He’ll also speak at Carnegie Mellon University later in the morning; CMU will have a live stream of his remarks. The president has visited CMU three times.
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June 23, 2011 - Carnegie Mellon methods keep bugs out of software for self-driving cars -
Driver assistance technologies, such as adaptive cruise control and automatic braking, promise to someday ease traffic on crowded routes and prevent accidents. Proving that these automated systems will work as intended is a daunting task, but computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have now demonstrated it is possible to verify the safety of these highly complex systems.
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June 23, 2011 - Burnaby traffic signal program for emergency vehicles receives award -
All of Burnaby’s 230 traffic signals and more than 100 police and fire vehicles are now equipped with this GPS-based system, Leach said. “When responding to an emergency, transponder equipment mounted on police and fire vehicles allows the vehicles to request a priority green light,” she explained.
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June 21, 2011 - ITS JPO to Host Summer Webinar and Public Meeting Series -
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced a series of webinars and public meetings that will focus on several aspects of the Connected Vehicle research program. The webinars and public meetings are free and open to the public, but interested attendees need to register in advance for each event.
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June 21, 2011 - G.E.’s Ecomagination initiative rakes in $18 billion in earnings for 2010 -
G.E. reported the development of 22 new products and solutions under its Ecomagination initiative last year, covering the sectors of green transportation and energy efficiency, among others. One of the products is the WattStation, a user-friendly charging station designed to accelerate the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles. The WattStation enables an electric vehicle owner to charge an E.V. faster compared to standard plug-in charging.
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June 21, 2011 - Profiles of American BRT: Pittsburgh’s South Busway and East Busway -
In recent years, Pittsburgh’s reputation has been rejuvenated. The former industrial hub is becoming an innovative model for urban re-development, and an attractive place to live and work. Pittsburgh’s leadership on the urban sustainability front is not a recent phenomenon – in fact, it was the first city in the United States to implement elements of bus rapid transit, and it paved the way for more robust U.S. BRT systems…
Today Pittsburgh is moving ahead with expansions and improvements to its BRT network. A new proposed route – downtown to Oakland – is a dense corridor packed with housing, employment centers, universities and businesses. All told, 110,000 people work along the route. The city’s transit agency estimates 68,000 riders a day will use the new route, or 24 percent of the Port Authority’s current total ridership.
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June 20, 2011 - Driverless Technology Is No Threat To Freight Truck Drivers – Yet -
Between July last year and October two electrically powered freight carrying vehicles made the 13,000+ kilometre trip between Parma, Italy and Shanghai, China with only a tiny amount of human interference. The scheme was called the VisLab Intercontinental Autonomous Challenge (details here) and was devised with help from the European Union EUREKA Prometheus Project, by VisLab, a brainchild of the University of Parma, which has been pushing the boundaries of automatic vehicle control for over two decades. This feat is just the latest in a series of research projects by various universities such as the AutoNOMOS by the Freie Universität Berlin artificial intelligence department and the Carnegie Mellon University which, in conjunction with General Motors, won the $2 million DARPA Grand Challenge prize…
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June 20, 2011 - CMU puts out call to inventors -
President Obama is expected to tout Carnegie Mellon University’s campaign to invent businesses and create jobs when he visits the university on Friday. Richard McCullough, the university’s vice president for research, and other officials are looking for faculty and students to follow the path of famed inventor Thomas Edison as part of a campaign to brand CMU as the inventors’ university. The Greenlighting Start-ups campaign would grant money and provide other support to help start businesses and jobs — a goal Obama will emphasize when he visits the Oakland campus.
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June 20, 2011 - City urged to create ‘smart’ streets – Social media can help spread traffic info -
More traffic and transportation information via social media would help Edmonton become a world leader in “smart” urban traffic safety, an IBM team says.
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June 20, 2011 - The car of tomorrow will drive itself — and fly – Why we haven’t moved much from the Model T but soon will -
“The driving force to autonomous driving is compelling,” he said. “Of course, we need to develop and prove the technology in real-world situations. But we definitely feel it is doable.”GM has been working on this for awhile, having won the top prize in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge, a competition for driverless vehicles, funded by the Pentagon. In a partnership with Carnegie Mellon University, GM took home the $2 million grand prize for its Chevy Tahoe’s ability to navigate the course in just over four hours.
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June 20, 2011 - Better Place-led group to provide trans-European electric car network -
The project will be deploying a multi-transport mode network with use of Europe’s road infrastructures and railways. An electric car charging network of battery switch stations – charging infrastructures using a robotic system designed for battery services – and renewable energy powered charge spots will be incorporated into the existing transport network…
The project is set to combine road electric network infrastructures with intelligent transport systems – communications systems designed for vehicle use.
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June 20, 2011 - Avoiding traffic? There’s an award-winning app for that -
The Intelligent Transportation Society of America honored the DOT and the authority Thursday with its Smart Solution Spotlight Award for the use of innovative technology to provide commuters and travelers with “more accurate and timely information about traffic, weather conditions and safety advisories.”
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June 16, 2011 - High-bandwidth software service for vehicles captures 2011 Governor’s Business Plan Contest -
A Madison company aiming to help passengers in buses, trains and other vehicles connect to the Internet was the grand prize winner in the 2011 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest. WiRover Inc., a company formed two years ago, is led by Suman Banerjee, a UW-Madison professor of computer sciences. WiRover has developed an end-to-end software platform to deliver high-bandwidth Internet services to moving vehicles, including buses, trains, emergency vehicles and automobiles.
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June 16, 2011 - MIT Smart Cars Predict Collisions -
We’ve seen cars with lane departure warnings and collision detection, but MIT is pushing the envelope with tech that can predict human driving patterns. The computerized intelligent transportation system (ITS) uses an algorithm created from modeled human driving to predict where human drivers are going to go next.
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June 16, 2011 - Google Shows That When Transit Agencies Free Their Data, Riders Win -
For transit agencies, letting Google provide useful transit data to their customers (and the bazillions of other people who log on to Google every day) seems to be a win-win situation, but Young observed that not all agencies feel that way. “There are a lot of barriers,” she said. “Some think, ‘It’s our data, we don’t want to give it to anybody, maybe we can make money with it.’”
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June 16, 2011 - ‘Smart’ cities key to competitive economies -
The intelligent or “ubiquitous city” is a concept which involves having an IT cluster support center to direct manage public services–including transportation, healthcare, environmental protection, security and disaster prevention–and also enhance convenience and eliminate wasteful or inefficient urban functions, she added.
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June 15, 2011 - ExploraVision Student Winners Present Future Technologies in Special Congressional Science Fair -
Edinburg, TX (1st Place in Grade K-3) – Smarter Intersections: The team envisioned a transportation technology called Intelligent Streets (i.streets), an advanced traffic control system that would utilize “smart translucent film” on a car’s windshield, receiving signals from either traffic lights or satellites.
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June 14, 2011 - Transportation boss wants screens with commuter info in bus shelters -
Arguing that Chicago’s 2,200 lighted bus shelters are “under-utilized,” newly-appointed Transportation Commissioner Gabe Klein wants to put them to work — by installing video screens that provide an array of commuter information. The TV-like screens that Klein hopes to install would include everything from Bus Tracker information now available on the internet and cell phones to the current inventory for car- and bike-sharing and how long it would take to walk to popular destinations.
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June 14, 2011 - ‘Smart cars’ that are actually, well, smart -
Of course, any intelligent transportation system (ITS), even one that becomes a mainstream addition to new cars, will have to contend with human-operated vehicles as long as older cars remain on the road — that is, for the foreseeable future. To this end, MIT mechanical engineers are working on a new ITS algorithm that takes into account models of human driving behavior to warn drivers of potential collisions, and ultimately takes control of the vehicle to prevent a crash.
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June 14, 2011 - LaHood: More info needed on distracted driving -
The U.S. transportation secretary says he wants more facts about distracted driving before discussing whether the government should regulate communications technology built directly into cars…
Earlier in the day, the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration spoke out against adding distractions by turning cars into mobile communications devices.
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June 14, 2011 - Enabling Cost-Effective Multimodal Trip Planners through Open Transit Data -
The Florida Department of Transportation has released a report that examines whether multimodal trip planners can be developed using open-source software and open data sources.
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June 14, 2011 - 3rd International Conference on Road Safety and Simulation (RSS2011) -
TRB is sponsoring the 3rd International Conference on Road Safety and Simulation (RSS2011) on September 14-16, 2011, in Indianapolis, Indiana. The conference is designed to explore technical developments and new and improved simulation equipment as well as examine the application of simulation research results to road safety issues.
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June 14, 2011 - TRB Webinar: Annual Meeting and/or Transportation Research Record Prospective Authors Informational Session -
On June 23, 2011, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT, TRB will hold a webinar to explore issues related to the formatting, submission, and review processes for papers being submitted for presentation at the 2012 TRB 91st Annual Meeting and/or the Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board.
The webinar, which will be repeated on June 28 and 30, 2011, is designed to help make prospective authors comfortable with the paper submission process so that they can focus their energy on developing the best papers possible.
There is no cost for the webinar but space is limited, so you must register in advance. Registration information for the June 23 and subsequent webinars is available online. The format of the webinar includes ample time to take questions from attendees.
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June 14, 2011 - Improving Roadway Safety Programs Through University-Agency Partnerships -
November 2-3, 2011 The Keck Center of the National Academies
Washington, DC
The Call for Abstracts deadline June 21
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June 14, 2011 - ITS-NY Announces 2011 Project of the Year Winners -
The Intelligent Transportation Society of New York (ITS-NY) has announced the 2011 ITS-NY Project of the Year Winners at its Eighteenth Annual Meeting and Technology Exhibition in Saratoga Springs, NY. “These winning projects feature Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and technologies at work in New York State to improve traveler mobility and safety, as well as the efficiency of New York State’s transportation system across all modes of travel,” said Dr. Isaac Takyi, Chair of the ITS-NY Awards Committee.
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June 14, 2011 - Can Technology Propel Transportation Industry? -
It may be a difficult time for freight companies to justify investment in anything other than hard assets, but if the U.S. economy is indeed on the verge of recovery, there is no better time to invest in information technology.
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June 13, 2011 - What Government IT Can Learn From The Private Sector -
Another big opportunity Kundra sees is doing more with the petabytes of information–so called Big Data–generated by government agencies. “We’re looking at, how do we think of Big Data and business intelligence in terms of slicing, dicing, and cubing information, whether it’s data on intelligent transportation systems, fraud detection, or in terms of the Intelligence Community,” he said.
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June 13, 2011 - New I-77 signs to keep motorists ahead of the curve -
By Sept. 30, large highways in the Canton and Akron area will be connected by webcams and message signs to the Ohio Department of Transportation Buckeye Traffic monitoring system.
It’s part of an $18.2 million project — already complete in portions of the Cleveland area — paid for with federal stimulus funds.
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June 13, 2011 - Bike Helmet Of The Future Could Detect Traumatic Head Injuries -
You’re in a nasty bike accident during rush hour. Nobody stops to help, but your helmet detects that you have sustained a nasty blow to the head and automatically calls 911. This “smart” bike helmet idea, one of five winners in Toyota’s Ideas For Good competition, is currently being worked on by engineers from Deeplocal and Carnegie Mellon University.
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June 13, 2011 - Bike-sharing concept peddled as fine idea -
On a vacation in Montreal last summer, I encountered a system of some 3,000 bicycles scattered among 300 self-serve stations. A swipe of a credit card allowed a free 30-minute ride with a drop-off anywhere else one could find another bike rental port. Fees kick in if one rides longer, but it’s wildly popular. Pittsburgh would never go from zero to 3,000 like that, but a Wisconsin company, B-cycle, will be in Market Square from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today to demonstrate how bike-sharing could begin here.
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June 13, 2011 - IBM, Intel and Apple: Building for the Future -
There were three presentations this week that showcase how IBM, Intel, and Apple are thinking about the future. In a way, each firm’s approach mirrors a different view of the world. Intel is focused on the micro aspect of how people will electronically interact and discussed technologies that could instrument every part of our lives for our benefit. IBM spoke on smart cities that would take this instrumentation and create a better managed utopian structure that would be ever faster (in terms of transportation), safer, and cheaper.
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June 13, 2011 - Soon Cars Will Behave Like Schools Of Fish -
Imagine traffic one day behaving like dense schools of fish, which turn and maneuver in a synchronized flash of color without collisions, confusion, or delays. Fish have a natural system of sensors that read heat and electric fields emanating from each animal. Now cars can do on roads what fish do in water as automobile engineers develop advanced sensor and transmitting systems that use WiFi signals and GPS to broadcast a vehicle’s precise location to other cars in order to avoid crashes.
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June 13, 2011 - Ford and World Safety Leaders Work to Launch Intelligent Vehicles Quicker, More Affordably -
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is hosting Europe‘s most influential safety leader to discuss how to bring intelligent vehicle technology to global customers quicker and more affordably. Ford is leading research and working with automakers and safety leaders globally on a standardized platform for the advanced wireless systems that can allow vehicles to “talk” to each other to reduce crashes and congestion.
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June 13, 2011 - Shorter airport check-in time eyed with smart eye scanners -
The International Air Transport Association unveiled a mock-up Tuesday in Singapore of what it dubbed the “Checkpoint of the Future,” where passengers separated by security risk would walk through one of three high-tech, 20-foot-long (6.1-meters-long) tunnels that can quickly scan shoes and carry-on luggage and check for liquids and explosives.
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June 13, 2011 - MIT Media Lab’s CityCar: From Invention To Innovation -
In this excerpt from the new book The Sorcerers and Their Apprentices, author Frank Moss examines the CityCar project and the difficulty of turning an idea in a lab into a product that changes a market.
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June 13, 2011 - ITSPA “Best of ITSPA” Award Nominations -
During the ITSPA Annual Meeting in August 2011 to be held in Philadelphia, PA, the Board of Directors will present two (2) “Best of ITSPA” awards. The first award will recognize an individual (ITSPA Person of the Year) that demonstrates devotion, excellence and leadership in advancing ITS in Pennsylvania. The second award will recognize a project that demonstrates innovation, coordination, and measurable results.
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June 10, 2011 - AT&T/Panasonic Automotive Systems Join Forces to Test Connectivity Concepts -
AT&T and Panasonic Automotive Systems Company have agreed to join forces in an effort to build and provide connectivity concepts for drivers. The new partnership will allow both companies to provide technology like in-car infotainment systems and the latest mobile devices for North America’s automakers.
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June 10, 2011 - Future includes more than just my minivan -
Since Toronto’s downtown core, like that of most cities, can’t support more roads, the question becomes how to move around as efficiently as possible. Beatty says the future is in intelligent transportation — vehicles that can be driven independently around city streets but, once headed on to the highway, become part of a vehicular Borg collective that controls merging, following distance and speed for maximum efficiency as people make their way into and out of the core.
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June 8, 2011 - Projects Use Phone Data to Track Public Services -
The city’s (New York) Metropolitan Transportation Authority has been trying to provide a better sense of predictability in recent years by adding displays in stations that state when the next train is expected. Now, a Web development firm called Densebrain says that it can do the same thing at practically no cost, by analyzing how people lose phone service when they head underground…
Boston is developing a system called Street Bump that uses a smartphone’s accelerometer and GPS system to detect when a driver hits a pothole and then sends that information to city officials. Techniques like this may help cities collect data that until recently would have required expensive network sensors.
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June 8, 2011 - Muni cameras cut accident rate by 50 percent, agency says -
Muni bus accidents declined by 50 percent last year, which the agency’s safety director attributes to a new video surveillance system that documents accidents and poor driving by transit operators.
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June 8, 2011 - TARC installs new high-tech radio system in buses -
All city buses are now equipped with two-way radios that allow dispatchers to instantly locate any bus, tell drivers if they are running ahead or behind schedule and connect every bus with the MetroSafe emergency communications system…
Eventually, TARC hopes to be able to enhance the technology so passengers can use smart phones or similar devices to tap into the system to find out when the next bus will arrive at a specific stop.
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June 8, 2011 - Bike-Share Schemes Shift Into High Gear -
National Geographic
Today’s bikes are often equipped with GPS devices for tracking. Free and coin-deposit systems have given way to solar-powered, computerized docking stations designed to deter theft and afford easy installation. Users often can reserve a bicycle with a few taps on a smart phone, unlock a bike with the swipe of a smart card that links up with the local metro, and even track calories burned while pedaling.
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June 8, 2011 - Rough guide to Near Field Communications and eWallets in travel -
This is a guest article by Minoo Patel, senior director for travel transportation and logistics projects at NIIT Technologies.
One of the latest trends driving the mobile travel technology industry is the advent of Near Field Communications (NFC).
In short, NFC is a combination of hardware – in the form of a microchip in a smartphone – and software that enables one’s phone or tablet to act as a kind of electronic wallet.
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June 8, 2011 - Weekend of Innovation: Toyota Tech Repurposed for Good -
Repurposing a Toyota car technology for some other use was the idea behind their Ideas for Good campaign. Last fall, the company solicited ideas from everyday people about how to turn any of five different technologies into some other innovation. Five winners were announced May 9, 2011, and this past weekend those winners participated in a Prototype Weekend at Carnegie Mellon University near Pittsburgh, Pa., to turn their ideas into reality.
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June 8, 2011 - Recapturing Global Leadership in Bus Rapid Transit: A Survey of Selected U.S. Cities -
The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy has released a report that explores the value of bus rapid transit, highlighting best practices from systems in the United States as well as abroad.
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June 8, 2011 - Analysis of Intelligent Speed Adaptation -
The Centre for Automotive Safety Research at the University of Adelaide, Australia, has released a report that examines Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) in Australia.
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June 8, 2011 - FHWA – New Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program Fact Sheets Available -
Seven new Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program fact sheets are available on the FHWA Website.
Three fact sheets provide information about an EAR Program-sponsored projects focused on the concept of vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) cooperation and vehicle positioning and navigation as elements of an integrated highway system: “Investigating Advanced Traffic Signal Control” (FHWA–HRT–11–044), “Efficient and Safe Merging Solutions” (FHWA–HRT–10–076), and “Staying in Lane: Intelligent Fusion of Vehicle Sensor Data” (FHWA-HRT-10-064).
Two fact sheets describe EAR Program-sponsored projects on human behavior and travel choices: “Modeling Driver Characteristics,” (FHWA–HRT–10–070) and “Investigating Congestion and Solutions: Experiments on Congestion Conditions and Pricing Initiatives” (FHWA-HRT-10-061). The fact sheet, “New Ways to Predict Bridge Performance: Advances in Structural Health Monitoring,” (FHWA-HRT-10-062) describes advanced methods for assessing system performance.
Two fact sheets—“Harnessing the Value of Ecosystems” (FHWA–HRT–10–075) and “Exploring Cement Hydration Kinetics” (FHWA–HRT–10–078)—provide information about EAR Program initial stage investigations on innovative topics. Initial stage investigations can lead to EAR Program investments through future open solicitations.
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June 8, 2011 - FHWA R&T Now – May 2011 -
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released the latest issue of its Research and Technology (R&T) Now news update. The update reports on research, technology, and development activities taking place within the U.S. Department of Transportation.
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June 8, 2011 - 6th International Visualization in Transportation Symposium -
TRB is sponsoring 6th International Visualization in Transportation Symposium on August 20-23, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. The symposium is designed to highlight improving technologies and methods, feature case studies or successful practices, and illuminate the expanding role of visualization in transportation planning, design, construction, maintenance, and data management and analysis.
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June 8, 2011 - 2012 TRB 91st Annual Meeting and Transportation Research Record: Paper Submission Website Now Open -
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) 91st Annual Meeting will be held in Washington, D.C., at the Marriott Wardman Park, Omni Shoreham, and Washington Hilton hotels. The information-packed program attracts 11,000 transportation professionals from around the world to Washington, D.C.
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June 7, 2011 - IBM Launches City Government Software Platform -
The software, called IBM Intelligent Operations Center, will synthesize data from a wide variety of government IT systems, such as those that handle water systems, asset tracking, public transportation and traffic management. It will offer visually summarized views of the data being collected, using a number of business rules that IBM developed while building and maintaining individual government systems.
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June 7, 2011 - DOT Research Collaboration Clusters -
These research clusters promote information sharing and collaboration among the hundreds of DOT researchers, DOT-funded researchers and their colleagues across the nation. You can visit them by clicking on the links to your left. Feel free to browse these sites without registering. If you would like to participate in these issue areas by posting your research and commenting on the works of others, please click here to register. This site does not host personal information.
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June 7, 2011 - Applications for the Environment: Real-Time Information Synthesis (AERIS) Transformative Concepts Workshop -
When: July 13, 2011 from 9:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. Eastern Time
Where: Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S.DOT) will be hosting a free public workshop to discuss the Applications for the Environment: Real-Time Information Synthesis (AERIS) Program and present Transformative Concepts. There will be a webinar for the first three hours of the meeting. The meeting is being organized by the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) which is part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA).
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June 6, 2011 - Why Bus Rapid Transit? -
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSs) are a whole story on their own, and one of the most interesting aspects of planning a BRT service. In a future blog, I’ll talk about these technologies and their huge impact on the performance of a BRT system.
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June 5, 2011 - Internal cameras approved for buses -
WESTERLY – Westerly’s entire school bus fleet will be equipped by summer’s end with cameras to capture both video and audio of students and drivers…
This initiative is separate from the Smart-Bus Live cameras that have been installed on two Westerly school buses to capture images of drivers that illegally pass stopped school buses.
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June 5, 2011 - How Car Companies and Rental Agencies are Creating ‘Carsharing 2.0’ -
Here are the major trends I see:
Peer-to-Peer Carsharing – Peer-to-peer (P2P) carsharing has the potential to dramatically expand the geographic area where carsharing is a viable alternative to car ownership — beyond dense, close-in parts of cities to suburbs and beyond.
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June 5, 2011 - 2011 Enhancements to the ITS Knowledge Resources Websites: Improving Access to Information on ITS Benefits, Costs, Lessons Learned and Deployment -
Description The Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has developed online ITS Knowledge Resources for decision making support. The major objectives on these online tools are to:
-Capture ITS costs, benefits and lessons learned from experiences of stakeholders in their planning, deployment, operations, maintenance, and evaluation of ITS.
-Provide all ITS stakeholders with convenient access to costs, benefits and lessons learned knowledge so that they can make informed decisions in their future ITS actions.
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June 3, 2011 - Bus Rapid Transit: Economic Development at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College -
View You Tube video
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June 2, 2011 - ITS JPO to Host a Webinar on Connected Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Analysis Report Review -
June 24, 2011, 1:00 PM ET
Duration: 90 minutes
About the Webinar The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S.DOT) will be hosting a free public webinar to discuss the Connected Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Analysis Report. The webinar is being organized by the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) which is part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA).
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June 2, 2011 - Lend Your Car, Save, and Save the World -
Buzzcar is a car sharing service where car-owners in a city or town allow their idle cars to be used by other local citizens in exchange for getting about 70-75 per cent of the rental fee, Chase told IPS in an interview. Even when a car is parked it costs their owners money, she says. The average cost of owning and operating car is 8,000 to 12,000 dollars a year even if it sits parked 22 hours a day….
The key to making Buzzcar work is simplicity and the growing use of smart phones, says Chase.
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June 2, 2011 - Is this the urban car of the future? -
Caselles’ concept is an ultramaneuverable runabout, with four-wheel steering, a top speed of perhaps 90 km/h, and enough battery range for a day’s commuting and shopping. At just 1.9 metres long, its key feature is the ability to go nose-first into what are normally parallel parking spots — something the Smart Fortwo can manage, but only at an angle.
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June 2, 2011 - Schneider Electric to Buy Smart Grid Firm Telvent -
On June 1, Schneider Electric (News – Alert) acquired Telvent GIT, SA, which provides software for real-time management of smart infrastructure in the electricity, oil and gas, water, and transportation sectors.
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June 2, 2011 - Applications for the Environment: Real-Time Information Synthesis (AERIS) Transformative Concepts Workshop -
When: July 13, 2011 from 9:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. Eastern Time
Where: Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S.DOT) will be hosting a free public workshop to discuss the Applications for the Environment: Real-Time Information Synthesis (AERIS) Program and present Transformative Concepts. There will be a webinar for the first three hours of the meeting.
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June 2, 2011 - Bus-tracking technology comes to L.A. County -
Dubbed NexTrip, the online service uses GPS and other technologies to track buses on their routes. It is “designed to help take the guesswork out of bus arrival and help you to get to your stop at the same time as your bus,” according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
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June 2, 2011 - Project aims to ease traffic at Five Corners in Easton -
Traffic lights will be replaced with Smart lights, according to Southworth. The new lights will sense the number of cars waiting at a light to determine when to let them through rather than just function on a timer as they do now. Fire Department vehicles will also be able to control the lights and turn them all red when they need to pass through the intersection to an emergency.
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June 2, 2011 - Travel, shop smart with metro card -
The multi-purpose smart card, which would be issued by the Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd (HMR), could be used for buying tickets for traveling in the Metro, buses, and MMTS. One will also be able to use the card for paying parking charges and toll fees and at convenience stores for purchases etc.
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June 2, 2011 - The Most for Our Money: Taxpayer Friendly Solutions for the Nations Transportation Solutions -
Reason Foundation, Transportation for America and Taxpayers for Common Sense release a report yesterday at a briefing on Capitol Hill. The report contains seven suggestions to help improve the nation’s transportation system at taxpayer-friendly costs.
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June 2, 2011 - Coming to grips with the costs of Moscow traffic -
With Moscow roads legendary for their congestions and chaos and the costs they impose on business needing to use them, Business RT talked to Erwin Toplak, Chief Operating Officer of global traffic management systems provider KapschTrafficCom Austria.
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June 2, 2011 - Tangerang goes hi-tech in traffic -
The new technology uses a closed-circuit camera that would respond to conditions at any given intersection. “Our study shows the new technology could reduce the rate of congestion by 30 percent,” he said.
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May 27, 2011 - Pioneering traffic signal scheme set to replace speed cameras in Swindon, UK -
The Wiltshire and Swindon Road Safety Partnership along with Swindon Council are piloting a pioneering scheme that will use traffic signals to stop drivers speeding. Two roads in the UK town have been chosen for a pilot study, where traffic lights will turn to red if they detect a speeding motorist approaching.
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May 27, 2011 - South Australian Government trials Cohda Wireless’s V2X ‘smart car’ system -
South Australia’s road safety minister, Tom Kenyon, has launched a three-month trial of DSRC-based ‘smart car’ technology. A fleet of 10 vehicles will be equipped with the technology, which has been developed by Adelaide-based Cohda Wireless – a spin-off from the University of South Australia.
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May 27, 2011 - Ford Prepares Global Launch of Electric Cars, Leads on Intelligent Vehicles -
Ford Motor Co. is preparing to launch a line of electric vehicles (EVs) globally and is looking further down the road towards making “intelligent” vehicles that could lead to improvements in sustainable transportation…
The company is showcasing its first intelligent vehicle this month in several California markets. The intelligent vehicle, using Wi-Fi and GPS to communicate wirelessly with other vehicles, can reduce the time drivers sit in traffic jams and can help drivers avoid car accidents. Real time traffic information would be used to route drivers to less congested roads.
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May 27, 2011 - Streetline and Siemens Partner on Parking Solution -
PITTSBURGH, May 25, 2011 — /PRNewswire/ — Streetline, Inc. and Siemens announced today at the International Parking Institute Conference and Expo in Pittsburgh that Streetline and Republic Intelligent Transportation Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Siemens, will work together on the installation and maintenance of Streetline’s smart parking platform including its wireless sensor network as it expands throughout the United States.
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May 26, 2011 - Move It! How the U.S. gets transportation policy wrong—and how to get it right -
Wall Street Journal-
We have tremendous technology available that could help make transportation smoother and more efficient. Traffic signals that are centrally controlled by computer can optimize the flow of traffic. Electronic toll-collection tags let drivers pay without stopping. Changeable signs can provide information about the next bus or train, or rough traffic conditions ahead. Freeway-management centers are able to spot roadway incidents, dispatch service vehicles to clear accidents and get traffic moving again.
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May 26, 2011 - Is Google Motors the new GM? -
By investigating driverless cars, Google is exploring an area that has tantalized automotive engineers for decades. Even a devoted driving enthusiast like former General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz concedes that driverless cars are the way of the future. Autonomous cars would reduce highway congestion, cut down on accidents, maximize fuel economy, and free up time for drivers to perform other tasks…
As the exclusive supplier of proprietary software? Bingo! Google’s automated driver system has the potential to become the operating standard for every car in the world — the Windows of motor vehicles. Why not?
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May 25, 2011 - ITSA’s Scott Belcher on KQV Radio -
ITS America president and CEO Scott Belcher spent time educating radio listeners across the country on ways to travel smart for the holiday. Listen to Scott’s interview with KQV-AM in Pittsburgh.
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May 25, 2011 - U.S. DOT Seeks Comments on National ITS Architecture -
The U.S. Department of Transportation is planning an update to the National Intelligent Transportation Systems Architecture and is seeking comments from stakeholders interested in this important initiative. The survey is being conducted by the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office which is part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration. Input collected from the survey will influence the future direction of the National ITS Architecture and will ultimately impact regional ITS architectures and the Turbo Architecture software.
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May 25, 2011 - Eyes in the sky to tackle traffic -
Trinidad – EYES in the sky will take the place of police officers on the nation’s highways to monitor errant motorists. The first phase of the National Transport Management System (NTMS) will focus on the East-West Corridor, and is geared at reducing traffic congestion.
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May 25, 2011 - A high-tech revolution is driving the parking industry -
Spread across an exhibit hall of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center this week is the promise of newfound serenity:
Parking meters that can be fed from afar, rendering quaint those pockets full of quarters; computer-controlled signs that point you to the closest available space, sparing you those time- and gas-wasting laps around the garage; even technology that rescues you when you’ve forgotten where you parked.
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May 24, 2011 - UPDATE: Toyota, Salesforce.com To Create Social Media Network For Vehicles -
The two companies said they plan to start offering the service, to be called “Toyota Friend,” with Toyota’s electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids due out next year. The new service will allows users to exchange real time updates, or “tweets,” with other Toyota drivers, connect with local dealers and remotely obtain diagnostic information about their hybrid vehicles, such as battery usage, they said. It will debut in Japan before a global roll out later in 2012.
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May 24, 2011 - Sense & the City – London Transport Museum -
This summer a new exhibition about London opens at London Transport Museum – you could be part of it. Sense & the City explores the powerful new forces that are shaping the way we live, work and travel in the city. GPS, pervasive wireless, sensing, near field communication, multi touch surfaces, open data, smart phones and a blizzard of new Apps are combining to redefine our urban relationships. Data visualisation is beginning to work with these digital riches to help us make deals, be sociable, navigate and network in powerful new ways. There is a wind of change in London – Sense & the City will harvest straws in that wind and test which of them have most significance for the future.
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May 24, 2011 - Car Talk and Talk and… Vehicles that constantly send out signals could save a lot of lives—if drivers accept the technology -
Now, the hardware and software to start rolling out a generation of connected cars is almost ready for real-world testing in the U.S. Whether American drivers are ready for a world in which cars send out data on speed and direction 10 times a second and function as automated back-seat drivers is another question. How people react to the technology will be as critical as whether the technology works.
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May 24, 2011 - Be safe … Be seen -
The second video is about a bicycle lighting system called Project Aura, which aims to make a cyclist visible from the side, not always possible with front and rear lights.
Project Aura was developed by Ethan Frier and Jonathan Ota, industrial design students at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
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May 24, 2011 - Velodyne Donates LiDAR and Robotic Artifacts to Smithsonian -
The HDL-64E was used as the obstacle detection sensor by five out of the six finishing teams at the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge, including the winner, Carnegie Mellon University’s BOSS.
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May 20, 2011 - Volvo demonstrates truck blind-spot detection and warning system at INTERSAFE 2 event -
Volvo has demonstrated a system that aims at solving the problem of the truck driver’s blind spot on the passenger side at the INTERSAFE 2 EU project’s Final Event in Wolfsburg, Germany.
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May 20, 2011 - BMW to debut Left Turn Assistant at EU INTERSAFE 2 initiative’s Final Event -
A BMW Group Research and Technology research project – which is part of the European-funded INTERSAFE 2 initiative – is giving the public debut of its new Left Turn Assistant today and tomorrow (May 17-18) in Wolfsburg, Germany, as part of the initiative’s Final Event…
The Left Turn Assistant is activated automatically in the BMW 5 Series test vehicle as soon as the car’s sensors detect that it is entering the left-turn lane and the car registers the driver’s wish to turn off.
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May 20, 2011 - Secretary LaHood Announces Availability of $7.6 Billion for Transit; Money Will Pay for Operations, Maintenance, and Construction -
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced the availability of $7.6 billion in annual funding for states, local communities and transit agencies nationwide to help maintain bus and transit rail operations and provide for capital construction and maintenance projects. With high gasoline prices taking a bite out of consumers’ wallets, this money will also provide people with options for getting around.
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May 20, 2011 - Transit chief touts Broward bus system -
BCT strategies for meeting the future transit needs of the community include attracting new commuters to the bus system, promoting energy efficiency, connecting with passengers through smart phones and other technology and providing for rider safety, comfort and convenience. “We’re working hard to attract the next generation of transit riders,” Garling said.
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May 19, 2011 - SPC – NOTICE OF PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD AND PUBLIC MEETINGS -
2040 Long Range Transportation and Development Plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission seeks comments from the public on important draft documents prior their adoption:
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May 19, 2011 - Google Lobbies Nevada to Allow Self-Driving Cars -
Google, a pioneer of self-driving cars, is quietly lobbying for legislation that would make Nevada the first state where they could be legally operated on public roads. And yes, the proposed legislation would include an exemption from the ban on distracted driving to allow occupants to send text messages while sitting behind the wheel.
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May 19, 2011 - DOT announces expanded 511 web -
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities has announced they have expanded their 511 web and telephone traveler information system to include smart phone access and an R-S-S feed. For those traveling with access to the newest technology it means easier access to road and weather information…
New Generation 511, as it is known, includes a newly improved telephone system as well.
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May 19, 2011 - USDOT to Host Driver Clinics for Connected Vehicles -
The U.S. Department of Transportation will host six clinics across the country to introduce drivers to vehicle-to-vehicle communications aimed at reducing traffic accidents and saving lives.
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May 19, 2011 - The Story of How Seoul Goes better with Smart Transportation Solutions.avi -
Nice promotional video of LG CNS smart transportation work with transit in Seoul.
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May 19, 2011 - Streetline Unveils Next Generation Smart Parking App Platform – Parker™ -
Streetline, Inc., a global provider of smart parking solutions for cities, airports, universities and private garages, today unveiled the next generation of Parker™ – the leading real-time consumer parking app for smartphones and tablets. With the announcement – which was made today during a press conference debuting Streetline’s real-time parking guidance in Studio City, Calif. – the company also introduced enhancements to its iPhone app and announced the availability of Parker for Android.
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May 19, 2011 - Advanced Eco-Routing Algorithm Hits the Market -
EFNAV takes into account three key factors when calculating eco-routes: traffic (real-time and historical), road grade, and road type. By using these data along with tapping directly into a vehicle’s data stream, EFNAV can deliver accurate and reinforcing feedback to a driver based on the eco-success of the route selection and driving style.
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May 19, 2011 - -
EFNAV takes into account three key factors when calculating eco-routes: traffic (real-time and historical), road grade, and road type. By using these data along with tapping directly into a vehicle’s data stream, EFNAV can deliver accurate and reinforcing feedback to a driver based on the eco-success of the route selection and driving style.
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May 17, 2011 - Use of Mobility Devices on Paratransit Vehicles and Buses -
TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) has issued a request for proposals to identify and assess the current and emerging issues that limit the use of mobility devices in paratransit vehicles and buses. The project will also develop guidance and options to assist transit systems, manufacturers, and transit users in the implementation of accessible design and accommodation solutions for the short and long term. Proposals are due June 21, 2011.
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May 17, 2011 - The technology behind bike sharing systems -
Sharing a bike with a friend requires trust and a U-lock. Sharing 600 bicycles with the city of Boston requires technology and a big investment. Alison Cohen’s Alta Bicycle Share is up for the task.
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May 17, 2011 - ITS America 2011 Student Smart Phone ITS App Competition – Win a Trip to Orlando, FL! -
The Student Smart Phone ITS App Competition is designed to encourage student interest and future participation in the development of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and related mobility, safety, and environmental solutions that address global transportation concerns. The objective of the competition is to provide an opportunity for today’s students—whatever their field—to apply their knowledge in a thought-provoking and enjoyable competition and to build awareness of ITS as a career path with unlimited potential.
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May 17, 2011 - World Transit Research Newsletter: May 2011 -
Monash University’s Institute of Transport Studies has released the latest issue of its bimonthly newsletter that is designed to highlight recently added items to the World Transit Research database.
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May 17, 2011 - Investigating Advanced Traffic Signal Control: Examining the Effect of Traffic Probe Data on Traffic Signal Operations -
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released a fact sheet that explores the concept of vehicle-to-infrastructure cooperation via the Intelligent Transportation Systems initiative.
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May 17, 2011 - NCHRP FY 2012 Projects: Oversight Panel Nominee Solicitation -
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) is soliciting nominees to serve on oversight panels for new projects being established under the NCHRP’s FY 2012 program. Nominees should have expertise directly relevant to the proposed project topic. To help identify nominees who are members of historically underrepresented groups, TRB encourages the nomination of women and members of minority groups. Nominations are due by June 3, 2011.
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May 17, 2011 - Improving Roadway Safety Programs Through University-Agency Partnerships: A Conference -
TRB with the support of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration is sponsoring Improving Roadway Safety Programs Through University-Agency Partnerships: A Conference on November 2-3, 2011, in Washington, D.C. The focus of this conference will be university-transportation agency partnerships for safety and the role these partnerships can play in helping to develop the analytical and workforce expertise needed to support new roadway safety analysis, research, programs, and cultural tools. The conference’s planning committee is seeking poster proposals to highlight current successful partnerships, explore innovative models for collaboration, and review new safety tools and concepts. The poster submission deadline is June 21,2011.
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May 16, 2011 - New report outlines seven tools for improving transportation system -
A new report released today by Reason Foundation, Taxpayers for Common Sense and Transportation for America proposes cost-effective recommendations that Congress should consider as part of the pending transportation bill that will stretch limited transportation dollars, save money in the long run, cut congestion, and better maintain the existing system…
The report also recommends five additional strategies, including: Bus Rapid Transit (BRT); Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS); Intercity Buses; Teleworking; and Local Street Connectivity.
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May 16, 2011 - Buses to see the light -
Some Highway 82 traffic signals will turn green earlier and remain green longer for valley buses under a groundbreaking plan by the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority.
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May 16, 2011 - ITS America 2011 Student Essay Competition – Win a Trip to Orlando, FL! -
The Student Essay Competition is designed to encourage student interest and future participation in the development of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and solutions. The objective of the essay competition is to provide an opportunity for today’s transportation and engineering students to apply their knowledge in a thought-provoking and enjoyable competition and to build awareness of ITS as a career path with unlimited potential.
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May 16, 2011 - SF parking app gets passing – not perfect – grade -
The goal of the federally funded experiment is to make it easier to find parking and reduce the need for drivers to circle, resulting in less congestion and air pollution. The high-tech parking hunt isn’t foolproof. But during a Chronicle road test on a recent afternoon with the manager of the SFpark program, the parking data was, for the most part, spot on.
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May 16, 2011 - Should drivers pay by the mile instead of the gallon? -
Options to measure distance traveled range from regular odometer readings to GPS-enabled tracking that would determine where and when travel occurred. That would be useful if the government wants to charge higher rates during peak rush hours, for example, a concept already used to some extent on highways with electronic tolls.
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May 16, 2011 - IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society -
Check out the IEEE ITSS web site for their recent newsletter and a listing of their upcoming ITS conferences and calls for papers.
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May 16, 2011 - Living Labs Global Award 2011 Winners Announced -
Technologies such as mobile broadband, smart hand devices, cloud computing and open-source public databases are becoming central to envisioning favorable future scenarios of cities. Living Labs Global, a non-profit association based in Copenhagen (Denmark) joined forces with the partnered cities with the aim of bringing companies and decision-makers from all corners of the globe together to promote innovation in services and mobility in cities, and to better capacitate the potential of new technologies to change our day-to-day lives for the better.
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May 13, 2011 - The OpenData movement will be a people’s revolution -
In the US the OpenData principle has been grasped. Chris Vein, deputy US chief technology officer, said: “Whether you call them geeks or techies, some of the greatest innovations in government have been the result of citizen developers who simply want to do their part to make our government work better. From the Department of Health and Human Services’ Community Data Health Initiative to ‘Transportation Camps’ – un-meetings aimed at solving transportation problems – throughout the United States, citizens are using their talents to help make government data that are simply lying around actually work for the American people.
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May 13, 2011 - U.S. Department of Transportation to Test Connected Vehicle Technologies in Six Cities -
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the six cities where it will hold Driver Acceptance Clinics for drivers to test new technologies that will help the department learn more about how drivers respond to vehicle-to-vehicle communications that can help reduce traffic accidents and save lives. The first clinic will be held in Brooklyn, MI, near Detroit, in August. The remaining clinics will be held in Minneapolis, Orlando, FL, Blacksburg, VA, Dallas and San Francisco.
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May 13, 2011 - Lake County’s traffic central keeps eye on roads -
LIBERTYVILLE — It’s been five years since Lake County PASSAGE (Arterial Signal Synchronization and Travel Guidance) was activated, an intelligent transportation system that can track just about any traffic nightmare and alert the public in real time via radio, email and smart phone.
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May 13, 2011 - PennDOT: Intelligent Transportation System Coming to Northwest Pennsylvania Interstates -
Features of the new system will include traffic cameras, dynamic message signs and highway advisory radio systems on Interstates 90, 86, 80, 79 and 376 in Butler, Crawford, Erie, Lawrence, Mercer and Venango counties.
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May 13, 2011 - Panel To Focus On Deadly Truck, Bus Accidents -
They also want trucks and buses to have some of the safety technology that’s available on many cars and on buses in other countries. That includes electronic stability control to prevent rollovers, adaptive cruise control that automatically adjusts speed to traffic, warning systems that alert drivers when they’re drifting into another lane, and warning systems that alert drivers to an impeding collision.
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May 13, 2011 - Tech-Savvy Travelers Embrace Mobile Flight Tracking Technologies, According to New FlightView Survey -
Smart phone usage among America’s frequent travelers continues to climb – currently at 75 percent, according to PhoCusWright. As more travelers and visitors move to checking flight status and travel information through mobile websites and applications, cash-strapped U.S. airports and airlines are struggling to keep up – and looking for guidance on where to invest first.
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May 13, 2011 - 2011 TRB Joint Summer Meeting -
Join more than 350 transportation professionals expected to participate in the TRB Joint Summer Meeting, July 10-13, 2011, in Boston, Massachusetts. Transportation professionals specializing in planning, finance, policy, economics, freight, data systems, transportation security, ferry transportation, and ports and waterways will share information in open committee meetings, joint collaborative discussions, and general sessions. Advance registration expires June 10, 2011.
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May 13, 2011 - 2012 TRB 91st Annual Meeting and Transportation Research Record Call for Papers -
TRB standing committees have issued calls for papers for the TRB 91st Annual Meeting, January 22-26, 2012, in Washington, D.C, and the Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board (TRR). While papers addressing any relevant aspect of transportation research will be considered, some committees are soliciting papers in specific subject areas to help potential authors identify topics for their papers
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May 10, 2011 - Bluetooth Readers Installed Locally On I-35 -
TxDOT’s expansion-project partners from the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University in College Station recently installed the first of a planned series of signal readers that will measure and report actual travel times between points along I-35 from Georgetown to Hillsboro.
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May 10, 2011 - Webinar Alert (from USDOT): Public Transit Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Implementations – Lessons Learned -
Date: Thursday, June 2, 2011
Time: 1:00 – 2:30 P.M. Eastern Time
Cost: All T3s are free of charge
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May 10, 2011 - ITS JPO Announces Seven New Research Projects for AERIS -
The Intelligent Transportation System Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) announces the selection of seven projects to identify research opportunities which the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) AERIS (Applications for the Environment: Real-Time Information Synthesis) program could leverage.
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May 10, 2011 - Now, to Find a Parking Spot, Drivers Look on Their Phones -
Now San Francisco professes to have found a solution — a phone app for spot-seekers that displays information about areas with available spaces. The system, introduced last month, relies on wireless sensors embedded in streets and city garages that can tell within seconds if a spot has opened up.
Note: A group of Carnegie Mellon University Heinz College graduate students, under the direction of Dr. Robert Hampshire developed the prototype for this app.
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May 10, 2011 - Connected Vehicle Technology Challenge -
New wireless technology enables connectivity for vehicles of all kinds—cars, trains and even bicycles. Vehicles can “talk” to each other, traffic signals, and mobile devices. What should they say?
Seventy-seven video submissions are in. Check them out, vote on them and engage in blogs or discussion groups.
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May 10, 2011 - Smartphones’ locating ability starts scaring users -
Like Shin, many smartphone users are disturbed about recent news that companies like Apple and Google are collecting their location data. They are the two major companies in the realm of smartphones and smartphone platforms – most smartphones use either Apple’s iPhone operating system or Google’s Android platform.
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May 10, 2011 - PennDOT to unveil signs providing Parkway East travel times -
The estimates will be computed from average speeds detected by sensors that are mounted on traffic camera poles. The information will be displayed continuously at all hours of the day and night and in both directions “unless there’s a higher-priority message, like a crash,” spokesman Jim Struzzi said…T
he service will be added on the Parkway West and Parkway North in the next few months, and expanded to other roads over the coming years, he said. -
May 10, 2011 - IBM Smarter City Classes Seek Solutions For Emergency Rooms, Public Transit, And “The Crotch” -
On Thursday, technology giant IBM announced the 50 recipients of its inaugural “Smarter Planet Faculty Innovation Awards,” in essence a $10,000 grant for designing classes geared toward the technologies, markets, and applications in which IBM has a vested interest–urban transportation and health care apps, for example.
See CMU’s winning submission from Dr. Deanna H. Matthews Smarter Cities through Systems Thinking
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May 10, 2011 - City eyes innovative parking garage -
With the $6 million, an innovative parking garage – one that uses robotics to park cars – could be built at the West Broad Street parking lot near Church Street Station and adjacent to CAN DO’s corporate offices at 1 S. Church St., Yannuzzi said.
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May 10, 2011 - Sustainable Transportation is Focus of IBM Grant Won by UB Professor -
Sadek has received an IBM Smarter Planet Faculty Innovation Award to develop an eight-lecture course on “Advanced Technology Solutions for a Sustainable Transportation System.” He describes some of the technologies that will be explored in the course in a video at http://bit.ly/l9ULhN.
The course address traffic flow fundamentals; traffic simulation; emissions modeling; signal optimization and coordination; incident management; sustainable or green routing; congestion pricing; and vehicle-infrastructure integration or IntelliDrive.
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May 10, 2011 - Area traffic flow data posted on ODOT site Radar on expressways sends info to Web -
Up-to-the-minute traffic flow information on Toledo-area expressways now is available on the Ohio Department of Transportation’s buckeyetraffic.org Web site, thanks to data from an array of radar devices a contractor recently installed along the roads. And once programmable message boards are installed at 11 strategic locations, traffic information based on that data will be displayed on them too.
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May 10, 2011 - How will social networking change air transportation? -
Social networking and smart phones have introduced an entirely new capability, leveraging real-time status, GPS location and special-purpose applications (apps). At this point (and things move quickly), these functionalities have created two new ways to generate charter bookings.
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May 10, 2011 - Connect by Hertz Car Sharing Electrifies Manhattan’s Seward Park Co-Op Bringing Electric Vehicles and Networked ChargePoint Stations to Consumers -
As part of its Global Electric Vehicle (EV) expansion throughout New York City, Connect by Hertz, Hertz’s (NYSE: HTZ) global car sharing club, the first car sharing club to introduce the 100% electric Nissan LEAF™ in Manhattan, is bringing the LEAF to Manhattan’s Seward Park Co-op…
Connect by Hertz is able to “communicate” with the vehicle, enabling representatives to unlock, engage and locate vehicles and cars are also equipped with iPod connectivity, Bluetooth capabilities, for a hands free driving experience, and EZ Pass transponders.
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May 10, 2011 - Phone app enlisted to help map future bicycle routes -
Called CycleTracks and available for iPhones or Androids, the program uploads trip information, which will be collected and used in future planning efforts. AMBAG is urging cyclists to not only download and use the program, but to enter notes about which types of trips they are taking. Users can see their routes on CycleTracks, but also see their times and average speed.
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May 9, 2011 - 2012 Structures Congress Call/Submission -
The 2012 Structures Congress includes a specialty track for Analysis and Computation. The submission process, requirements and link to the paper management system are different from the traditional Structure Congress. Please visit the 20th Analysis and Computation page for all details.
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May 6, 2011 - Evaluating Pedestrian Safety Countermeasures -
Pedestrians hit in roadway crashes account for nearly 12 percent of all traffic fatalities and 59,000 injuries each year. Because crashes involving pedestrians tend to be sporadic events that do not occur at the exact same location, a one-size-fits-all approach to mitigating pedestrian safety problems is unrealistic. To help shed light on which countermeasures will be most effective at specific types of locations, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) initiated pilot projects in Las Vegas, NV, Miami, FL, and San Francisco, CA.
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May 5, 2011 - The future of autonomous cars -
While science fiction has toyed with the idea of the self-driving car for years, the reality is a horribly complicated task. At the turn of the last century, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), issued its Grand Challenge for fully autonomous vehicles…
Six competitors were successful and the winner of the $2 million prize was the Chevrolet Tahoe of the Carnegie Mellon University of Pittsburgh.
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May 5, 2011 - OICA Appeals for Harmonised Intelligent Transport Systems Standards to Facilitate the Accelerated Deployment of Connected Vehicles -
Paris, France, 21 April 2011 – The Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers makes a strong appeal towards harmonized Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) industry technical standards in order to accelerate the deployment of these systems. In this context globally aligned wireless communication protocols for safety and mobility relevant data to connect vehicles with each other and with the roadside infrastructure are a critical element to enable deployment.
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May 5, 2011 - Smarter Vehicles Coming Soon That Talk and Avoid Crashes -
The auto industry is moving closer to deploying technology into vehicles that could go a long way to making vehicle crashes, at least serious ones, mostly a thing of the past. That’s right. The industry that fought against making seat belts standard, is marching toward creating the ultimate safe car without the hammer of regulation coming down on it.
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May 5, 2011 - A silver bullet for urban traffic problems -
(CNNMoney) — Some of the most valuable real estate in cities is hidden beneath parked cars. For managers of urban resources, this turf is a blind spot. There’s no real-time data about how it gets used, and you can’t manage what you can’t measure. Experts believe that some 30% of urban traffic comes from cars hunting for parking spaces.
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May 5, 2011 - A Foundation for Safer Driving -
A new project brief, A Foundation for Safer Driving, summarizes the progress of preliminary research for the SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS) as of April 2011. Driver behavior is the primary cause of most crashes, and the SHRP 2 NDS will be the largest study of driving behavior ever conducted.
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May 4, 2011 - IBM executive describes potential of ‘cloud computing’ -
An IBM Corp. executive told businesspeople Tuesday morning that advancing technology is creating intelligent infrastructure making it possible to analyze and adjust whole utility, transportation and industrial systems almost instantaneously to meet user demand.
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May 4, 2011 - DOT awards $6.5M to ease Michigan, Minnesota truck parking shortages -
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $4,480,000 to Michigan’s I-94 Truck Parking and Information Management System and $2,049,940 to Minnesota’s Comprehensive System for Assessing Truck Parking Availability. Both systems will deliver real-time information on parking availability through Intelligent Transportation Systems.
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May 4, 2011 - Smart Wireless Cars and Intelligent Transportation Focus of CTIA-The Wireless Association® May Edition of “Wonder of Wireless” -
Mobile technology is being deployed in numerous ways to make transportation safer, easier and more convenient for Americans. In CTIA’s May “Wonder of Wireless” (WOW) webcast and blog (http://blog.ctia.org), the association features stories on “intelligent transportation” and the impact wireless is having on the next generation of vehicles and drivers. By powering applications that control fleet management, vehicle diagnostics and communications and entertainment systems, the transportation industry is improving its operations and making its products safer.
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May 4, 2011 - Techstorm – June 2, 2011 Fairfax, VA -
TECHSTORM is open to the technology transfer professionals and researchers from academic institutions and federal labs, corporate in-licensing executives, entrepreneurs, investors and others interested in contributing to the advancement of innovative technologies to market.
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May 4, 2011 - Deeplocal to build Toyota’s Ideas for Good -
Pittsburgh’s Deeplocal Inc., the East Liberty-based technology, art and engineering house, is working with Toyota on the automaker’s Ideas For Good campaign that will culminate in the firm building five completely new products based on technology developed for the Prius and ideas suggested by the public…
In addition to working with Deeplocal, there is a connection to Carnegie Mellon University. The school and Toyota are in talks to develop a class or some other project that will take the remaining 20 finalists and continue developing those ideas.
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April 29, 2011 - TIMTC, USDOT TO SPONSOR WEBINAR ON WIRELESS ROADSIDE INSPECTION PROGRAMS -
Trucking industry stakeholders are invited to participate in a free webinar to review preliminary findings for the Wireless Roadside Inspection (WRI) program. WRI is developing a comprehensive and, more importantly, coordinated roadside inspection program for trucks. Motor carriers must currently navigate a maze of Federal, state and local enforcement policies that utilize a variety of manual, semi-automated and advanced technologies.
Please visit the TIMTC website at www.freightmobility.org to register for the webinar or click here. -
April 29, 2011 - New app tells texters U R BZZY -
New Hampshire’s largest Web development company has developed a new smart phone application intended to combat distracted driving – a “deadly epidemic,” according to the U.S. Department of Transportation secretary Ray LaHood. Portsmouth-based PixelMEDIA has developed “Bzzy,” an Android application that when activated automatically responds to texts to inform that the recipient is unavailable to text.
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April 29, 2011 - TE-31 Dynamic Traffic Flow Modeling and Control -
Course Description:
The design, analysis, and evaluation of many Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) requires a good working knowledge of traffic flow modelling and control techniques, and familiarity with powerful methodologies from the areas of optimization, control, networks and dynamic systems. This intensive 5-day course covers the basic theory and tools necessary for efficient design and evaluation of ITS on road and freeway networks. -
April 28, 2011 - Top Korean firms hold roadshow -
The Korea-Qatar ITS Roadshow 2011 was held yesterday to promote co-operation between Korean Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) companies and Qatari government institutions….
The delegate from Korea’s Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs showcased a number of technologies developed in Korea, including a system that can measure the speed of a vehicle, compare it to the amount of time before a traffic light changes, and warn the driver before a possible traffic signal violation.
The Korean government has spent billions on research and development in ITS technology, and expect to have fully deployed smart highway technology nationwide by 2020.
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April 28, 2011 - Drive one way, by the minute, with new car-rental service -
Unlike services such as Zipcar or Vancouver’s Modo – The Car Co-op, which offer rentals by the hour after which cars must be returned to their pickup location, car2go lets users take one-way trips. For example in Austin, cars can be reserved ahead of time or picked up on the spot and dropped off somewhere else, as long as its within the program’s operating area. Car2go is seen by some in the industry more as an alternative to taxis or bike-sharing programs than to traditional car sharing.
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April 28, 2011 - Battelle to Perform $4.1 Million Project for Minnesota Department of Transportation -
Battelle will conduct a $4.1 million demonstration project for Minnesota’s Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) that will use commercial off-the-shelf technology to determine the feasibility of replacing the gasoline fuel tax with a mileage-based user fee.
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April 28, 2011 - IEEE Standards Association and SAE International Agree to Collaborate on Smart Grid and Vehicle-Electrification Standards -
PISCATAWAY, N.J. and WARRENDALE, Pa., April 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) and SAE International today announced that the two organizations have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a strategic partnership in vehicular technology related to the Smart Grid. In doing so, IEEE-SA and SAE International are striving to create a more efficient and collaborative standards-development environment for the industry participants that they serve.
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April 28, 2011 - Apple, Google, IBM: Different Takes on Location Tracking -
Let’s contrast the Apple and Google news in the headlines today with an announcement made a couple of weeks ago by IBM about a “First-of-a-Kind Collaboration to Analyze Real-Time Traffic Patterns and Individual Commuter Travel History to Forecast Faster and Safer Routes.”
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April 28, 2011 - “Intelligent Transportation” Grabs the Attention of the World Traffic Safety Symposium in NYC -
The World Traffic Safety Symposium, founded in 1990, was formed to address the growing concern of traffic injuries and fatalities on roadways. Now celebrating its 20th year, the Symposium is dedicated to bringing automobile manufacturers, law enforcement officials, public and private organizations, and the media together to share information and discuss innovative ways to make traveling safer for drivers and pedestrians.
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April 27, 2011 - Analysis of Crash Data to Estimate the Benefits of Emerging Vehicle Technology -
The Centre for Automotive Safety Research at the University of Adelaide, Australia, has released a report that explores the potential benefits of some of the safety technologies emerging for passenger vehicles, trucks, and motorcycles. The focus of the report is on systems that actively prevent crashes, but some passive safety features are also examined.
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April 27, 2011 - TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program has issued a request for problem statements identifying research needed for TCRP’s FY 2012 program. -
TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program has issued a request for problem statements identifying research needed for TCRP’s FY 2012 program. Research problem statements for the TCRP FY 2012 program are due June 15, 2011. These submittals form the basis for selection of the annual TCRP research program.
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April 27, 2011 - Developing an ITS Technology Web Portal for Transit System Leaders -
TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program has issued a request for proposals to develop content and structure for a web-based knowledge portal for transit system leaders that will be hosted on the American Public Transportation Association’s website. Proposals are due June 6, 2011.
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April 26, 2011 - OnStar Chooses Winning App in Developer Challenge -
In an effort to find the next original and compelling in-vehicle voice-enabled application, OnStar challenged students enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University, MIT, University of Michigan, University of Texas and University of Toledo to submit voice applications that would help provide a greater level of connectivity to OnStar subscribers.
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April 25, 2011 - Wi-Fi service could hit Boulder bus routes by 2012 -
Information superhighway, meet the slightly slower U.S. 36. The city of Boulder is in preliminary talks with the Regional Transportation District to bring free, wireless Internet service to regional bus routes… Roskowski said the technology would rely on a satellite connection, which would be more stable and reliable than most 3G services that can lose their signal over the Davidson Mesa or other cellular “dead zones.”
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April 22, 2011 - Pennsylvania DEP Announces Alternative Fuel Transportation Projects Grant Opportunity -
The Department of Environmental Protection is accepting applications for projects to be funded by the Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant Program (AFIG). The program makes available $4 million in grants to assist in funding eligible projects that use or produce biofuels, alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles, or that deploy fuel-saving technology in the transportation sector.
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April 22, 2011 - Bike-Sharing System Coming to Boston -
Renters will use swipe cards to use Hubway bicycles with costs of $5 per day, and free trips that are 30 minutes or shorter. There will be $85 annual memberships. Users will rent bikes from one station and return them at another across the city, with about 10 bikes available at each station.
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April 21, 2011 - MBTA Hopes New Apps Ease Commuter Pains -
A new application for smartphones will let riders find out when their bus or train will arrive. The service will soon be available for the commuter rail. “The train is late, and it just doesn’t fly when you’re working for corporate America,” one commuter said.The new technology can’t come soon enough for frustrated passengers, who were stranded or delayed as commuter trains struggled to make it through a tough winter.
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See 33 real time apps here -
April 20, 2011 - Highly automated driving takes shape -
The HAVEit project is intended to make vehicles safer, more environmentally-friendly and fuel efficient by enhancing their level of automation. After more than three years of research work on intelligent driver assistance systems, seven vehicles demonstrating results will be presented in Borås (Sweden).
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April 20, 2011 - Company to test technology on lab buses -
When David Bruemmer left Idaho National Laboratory in 2009, his aim was to sell robots that detect bombs, make maps and help people stay out of car wrecks. But Bruemmer’s company, 5D Robotics, has branched into other disciplines. The same software that drives a mine-sweeping robot will soon prod INL bus drivers — and perhaps, someday, drivers throughout the world — to be more fuel efficient. In coordination with teams of INL and University of Idaho researchers, 5D will use INL’s fleet of worker-transport buses as guinea pigs for technology they believe will boost fuel efficiency for all kinds of vehicles.
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April 20, 2011 - Zipcar Surges in First Day After Raising $174.3 Million -
The company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, raised $174.3 million in its IPO yesterday, after increasing the shares and pricing them above the range. The shares advanced $10 to $28 as of 4 p.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading, after climbing as much as 75 percent to $31.50.
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April 20, 2011 - Coalition of Business, Highway, Transit and Environmental Leaders Urge Congress to Support Smart Technologies in Transportation Reauthorization Bill -
Governor Rendell, U.S. Chamber, AAA, ITS America, Automakers, Retailers, other Innovation Leaders Tout Benefits of Intelligent Transportation Systems
A coalition of highway and transit organizations, automakers, safety and environmental advocates, and public and private sector leaders from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses joined forces today to urge Congress to invest in high-tech solutions in the surface transportation reauthorization bill to get the most from our nation’s infrastructure and limited transportation dollars.
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April 20, 2011 - Sitronics Gets $220M to Fight Traffic -
A source close to the Mayor’s Office (Moscow) said Sitronics would modernize the existing traffic light management system — called Start — through the purchase of new traffic lights, sensors and video monitoring systems, and modernize the management of the city’s mass transit by installing satellite navigation equipment in its rolling stock.
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April 20, 2011 - FDOT sketches ‘smart’ system to untie traffic on Brevard roads -
To combat congestion, Florida Department of
Transportation engineers want to install video cameras and fiber-optic cable to computer-synchronize traffic signals along 10 crowded roadways.“That’s like having a deputy sheriff at every intersection that controls the lights. The light-range varies, depending on the oncoming traffic,”…
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April 19, 2011 - Test of Traficon SafeWalk and C-Walk pedestrian detectors -
The Department for Transport commissioned TRL to assist in the development of vehicle and pedestrian systems for urban traffic management. One of the strands of the work is to assess the performance of new detection systems. TRL tested the Traficon C-Walk pedestrian on-crossing detector and the SafeWalk kerbside detector to ensure they met the requirements of TR2506 and TR2507 respectively. Testing took place at TRL’s test track facility, under a variety of conditions.
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April 19, 2011 - Innovator: March/April 2011 -
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released the latest issue of its Innovator newsletter, which is designed to help advance widespread implementation of innovations and technologies in the highway community and help chronicle a nationwide movement to improve the way highways are built.
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April 19, 2011 - Volpe Highlights: March/April 2011 -
The U.S. Research and Innovative Technology Administration’s Volpe National Transportation Systems Center has released the latest issue of its monthly newsletter that highlights work taking place at the center as well as information of interest to the transportation research community.
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April 19, 2011 - Safety and Transit Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) : Funding Proposal Deadline Extended -
Top 3 Things Selection Committees Are Looking for in IDEA Proposals:
1. Innovation — Emphasize the innovation. Say it first, say it fast, and make it clear. What problem does your project address? How is your solution better than current practice?
2. Benefits — Describe the expected benefits. Why is this project worth investing in?
3. Science — Stick to the science. Be sure the research approach is sound and sensible.
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April 19, 2011 - State to test miles driven for taxing vs. gasoline pumped -
Staring at the prospect of coming up tens of billions of dollars short, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) said Monday that it is looking for 500 Wright and Hennepin County volunteers to test technology in July that could be used to shift tax collection from gasoline purchased to miles driven.
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April 19, 2011 - SF Set To Launch Pay-By-Cell Phone Parking Meters -
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency was preparing to launch a key phase of its new parking program this week — allowing parking meters to be paid by cell phone, according to agency officials. The SFpark pilot program, unveiled last year, will start Thursday distributing real-time information collected by smart meters and sensors about where parking is available so that drivers quickly find open spaces.
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April 19, 2011 - Intelligent Transport Asia 2011 19 – 20 July, 2011, Prince Hotel & Residence, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -
A decaying transportation infrastructure, increasing number of accidents owing to the growing population in the region has made Asia the geographic breadwinner in ITS manufacturing and deployment. Japan, South Korea and Singapore have set the pace and forged ahead with ITS deployments. It is the time for the developing countries such as China, Malaysia, India, Philippines and the rest to catch up and make their transport systems smart.
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April 19, 2011 - VNC 2011 : IEEE Vehicular Networking Conference 2011 -
November 14-16, 2011 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
PRELIMINARY CALL FOR PAPERS
The IEEE Vehicular Networking Conference 2011 (IEEE VNC 2011) seeks to
bring together researchers, professionals, and practitioners to present
and discuss recent developments and challenges in vehicular networking
technologies, and their applications.
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April 19, 2011 - Vehicles of the Future will be Intelligent, Connected, Driver-Optional, and eventually Driverless -
AUVSI and NDIA are pleased to present the inaugural Transportation Technology Transfer Initiative (T3I) Conference. Join us as leaders from the Department of Defense, Department of Transportation and industry share the latest developments in intelligent vehicle technology. Learn how collaboration among key interests can advance concepts leading to saving lives on the battlefield and on the nation’s highways. May 24-25, 2011 in Crystal City, VA.
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April 19, 2011 - Leading Transportation Experts from Bombardier, IBM and Eaton to Share their Vision for Future Travel at Frost & Sullivan’s Flagship Event in London -
‘Intelligence-on-the-go’ will be the focus of the track, providing an insight into fully integrated, multi-modal solutions and new business models for public transport, and specifically considering the role that High Speed Rail, mobility integrators, and hybrid powered buses can play in tomorrow’s transportation networks. The conference is a “Must Attend” for individuals and companies looking to generate, evaluate and implement actionable strategies in their market place.
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April 19, 2011 - 22nd Enhanced Safety of Vehicles Conference -
The ESV Conference will be held in Washington, DC at the Gaylord National Hotel and
Convention Center June 13-16, 2011. The program is a global opportunity for exchanging
innovative vehicle safety research technologies and real world data to help save lives,
prevent injuries and reduce vehicle-related crashes. This event is one of the world’s
premier conferences in the field of vehicle safety research.
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April 14, 2011 - Robots to invade Shaler’s sewer system -
Kevin Creagh, township engineer, explained that RedZone Robotics Inc., of Carnegie Mellon University, has divided the township into eight areas and each year sends robotic cameras into a section of the sanitary sewer system looking for breaks, leaks, roots and other invaders that need to be terminated before they cause expensive damage. The automated technology has saved Shaler some serious money — at least $300,000 a year.
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April 14, 2011 - Ford, GM, Tech Firms Driving To ‘Smart’ Car Era -
Within a few years, increasingly autonomous cars will be able to brake and change lanes on their own to avoid collisions and smooth the flow of traffic. Cars could also become able to talk with one another, so when a driver is forced to make a sudden stop, the cars behind would automatically be alerted.
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April 14, 2011 - Traffic sensors expected to help forecast backups -
IBM, Caltrans and a UC Berkeley transportation research center this morning will announce the collaborative project to help commuters steer around congestion by warning them of anticipated troubles on the road and predicting trip times.
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April 14, 2011 - How Smarter Parking Technology Will Reduce Traffic Congestion -
Between 8% and 74% of traffic in congested downtown areas is caused by people cruising for parking, according to a report by UCLA professor Donald Shoup who synthesized studies from 70 years of research on the subject. The paper indicates that drivers in major cities — including San Francisco, Sydney, New York and London — spend between 3.5 and 14 minutes searching for a space each time they park.
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April 12, 2011 - Analysis of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Concept of Operations in ITS Applications -
The University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies has released a report that explores development of a framework for the design of concept of operations that use small uninhabited aerial systems to support intelligent transportation system (ITS) applications of highway and transportation infrastructure monitoring.
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April 12, 2011 - Dynamic Travel Information Personalized and Delivered to Your Cell Phone -
The Florida Department of Transportation has released a report that explores the development of technology that delivers dynamic, personalized traffic alerts only when the alert is relevant to the user’s real-time location or predicted next destination and departure time.
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April 12, 2011 - FHWA R&T Now – March 2011 -
A news update of research, technology, and development from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
Read Newsletter – More>>
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April 12, 2011 - NHTSA Vehicle Safety and Fuel Economy Rulemaking and Research Priority Plan: 2011-2013 -
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released a plan that describes the projects the agency plans to work on in the rulemaking and research areas for calendar years 2011 to 2013. The list of activities in the plan is not exhaustive; it includes only programs and projects that are priorities or will take significant agency resources.
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April 12, 2011 - TRB Webinar: Communicating the Value of Research: A Focus on Successful State DOT Practices and Case Studies -
TRB will be conducting a web briefing or “webinar” on May 5, 2011, from 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. EDT that will explore practices that can assist research staff employed at state departments of transportation in communicating the value of research to their leadership. Registration is open to all, and participants must register to attend the event.
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April 12, 2011 - ITS video competition “Bringing Intelligence into Mobility”! -
The closing date for the submission of videos is 15 May 2011. The three most popular videos with the best average score after 1 June 2011 will be shown at the VIP dinner of the European ITS Congress in Lyon, which will also serve as the ERTICO 20th anniversary celebration. At the VIP dinner, the 250 guests will vote to select the winning video, which will be shown and celebrated at the Closing Ceremony of the European ITS Congress in Lyon.
See videos here. More>> -
April 12, 2011 - Invention – How the Superbus works -
It is electric, so no fumes. It has a top speed of 250 kph/ 155 MPH. It really is more like a limousine than a traditional bus. The idea is to combine the vehicle with “intelligent routing” to provide a new form or transportation.
The video is worth viewing. More>>
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April 11, 2011 - Amsterdam and car2go go electric -
car2go today announced to bring its innovative mobility program to Amsterdam before end of 2011 and decided to run one of the world’s first large scale carsharing fleets of pure electric vehicles there with 300 smart fortwo cars.
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April 11, 2011 - Bombardier Redefines the Future of Urban Transportation at the 59th UITP World Congress in Dubai -
Bombardier Transportation will showcase two of its most recent and major innovations in the field of urban mobility – the BOMBARDIER PrimoveCity e-mobility solution and the BOMBARDIER INNOVIA Monorail 300 system – at the 59th World Congress and Exhibition of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) in Dubai, April 11-14, 2011.
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April 11, 2011 - ‘Smart card’ electronic fare system to come to Philadelphia -
The new system is “open,” according to SEPTA, in an effort to attract new riders. It will apply to trains, buses and trolleys and accept bank cards, mobile devices and other “smart” technologies.
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April 11, 2011 - Siemens Revamps Its Industrial Business -
- Everything to do with power distribution and transportation equipment will become a new “Infrastructure and Cities” division. And the same goes for its building technology operations, which produce building automation, fire safety and security equipment.
The new arm will employ 81,000 people and generate approximately $23 billion in revenue. It will focus on tapping into fast-growing infrastructure demand around the world.’
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April 11, 2011 - China must look within to drive development of smart cities -
“China has few companies capable of challenging the multinational corporations that are pioneering smart city infrastructure, such as IBM Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc.”
In this month’s Telecom, Media, and Technology guest column, Zhang Shenwei and Xu Liyan, researchers at the Samsung Economic Research Institute in Beijing, talk to Interfax about the challenges China is facing in developing smart cities.
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April 11, 2011 - Not driving much? Share your car. -
Car sharing services use a bundle of new technologies including smart cards instead of keys, mobile apps for registration and smart tracking devices for security.
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April 11, 2011 - ATMOS 2011 : Algorithmic Approaches for Transportation Modeling, Optimization, and Systems -
CALL FOR PAPERS 11TH WORKSHOP ON ALGORITHMIC APPROACHES FOR TRANSPORTATION MODELING, OPTIMIZATION, AND SYSTEMS (ATMOS)
September 8, 2011 Saarbruecken, GERMANYSince 2000, the series of ATMOS workshops brings together researchers and practitioners who are interested in all aspects of algorithmic methods and models for transportation optimization and provides a forum for the exchange and dissemination of new ideas and techniques.
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April 11, 2011 - Ford, GM, Tech Firms Driving To ‘Smart’ Car Era -
Last week, U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., and Russ Carnahan, D-Mo., introduced a bill to accelerate a public-private “smart car” effort called Intelligent Transportation Systems. The bill calls for testing such systems in six communities. Big car companies and tech leaders such as IBM (IBM), Intel (INTC) and Qualcomm (QCOM) support the bill.
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April 8, 2011 - Transit ITS Regional Workshop -
Audience: This is an introductory level workshop. The content is geared for transit professionals including planners, engineers, and operations managers that will be involved in the planning, implementation, and ongoing management of transit ITS applications.
Description: The goal of this workshop is to increase awareness of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and how the transit core suite of technologies can be deployed to deliver safer and more efficient transit services.
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April 8, 2011 - lToyota and Microsoft Hook Up To Make Automobiles the “Ultimate Mobile Device” -
“This next step forward with Toyota is just one more way we are demonstrating our commitment to connect the devices and power the services that are important to consumers,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, in a statement. The two companies said they will develop and deploy telematics applications on the Windows Azure platform, starting with Toyota’s electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012. Toyota says the cars will play a big part in “smart centers,” the onboard systems “capable of better managing overall energy consumption of cars and homes.”
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April 6, 2011 - Intelligent Transportation Systems Video Challenge -
The United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) wants you to grab your camera and show us how ITS technologies are making transportation better in your community. The ITS Video Challenge is sponsored by the U.S. DOT Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Federal Highway Administration, and Federal Transit Administration.’
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April 6, 2011 - ITS America launches Technology Scan report series -
The first of several Technology Scan reports is now available. The series assesses emerging, converging and enabling technologies outside the domain of mainstream transportation research. ITS America is surveying technologies that will potentially impact state-of-the-art or state of the practice in ITS deployment over the next decade, with an emphasis on the “connected vehicle.”
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April 6, 2011 - How to Hail a Passenger -
5 April 2011—Sure, your smartphone can help you find a cab, and it probably uses GPS to do it. But now that most taxi drivers are also equipped with GPS, what kinds of smart applications are helping them find you? The millions of taxi GPS devices are creating huge stores of data that researchers are mining to solve routing problems, improve dispatch operations, and shake up the economics of transportation.
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April 6, 2011 - Cell Carriers To Roll Out “Mobile Wallets” In Utah -
A joint venture between three of the nation’s four largest cell phone carriers will soon offer the United States’ first commercially available mobile fare payment program to a public transportation system. Isis, a mobile commerce joint venture between AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, announced Tuesday it will roll out the pilot program in Salt Lake City in 2012, offering an alternative to credit and debit cards for Utah Transit Authority fare payments.
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April 6, 2011 - Pennsylvania drivers could be taxed on miles traveled, not gas usage Read more: Pennsylvania drivers could be taxed on miles traveled, not gas usage -
Taxing motorists on the miles they drive — rather than the gas they use — could provide a more stable source of funding for transportation, the chairman of the state House Transportation Committee said yesterday…
So state Rep. Rick Geist, R-Altoona, said a proposal to study a possible vehicle-mileage tax will be included in the transportation funding package for the next fiscal year. He characterized such a tax as a “user fee.”
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April 6, 2011 - Pennsylvania Lawmakers Explore Mileage Tax -
There’s a number of technologies, one is a transponder in your car that would go to a central monitoring facility that would monitor the miles you drive and then you’d be billed as a result of those miles,” McGeehan said on NewsRadio 1020 on Tuesday, adding that he was only explaining the proposal, not advocating it.
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April 6, 2011 - Fly Ruby – New App Reviewed -
FlyRuby helps user find available private jet flights. The application goes beyond a simple airfare search. It operates based on an artificial intelligence scheduling technology developed by Dr. Stephen Smith…
FlyRuby was founded in 2011 by CEO Michael Leek. Leek had a good idea, but needed assistance to get it off the ground. With the help and technological developments of Dr. Smith (who is also the company CTO), they were able to get things started. The founding of the application was secured through an exclusive license provided by the Carnegie Mellon University.
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April 6, 2011 - Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Crash Fatalities in 2010 -
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released a traffic safety facts sheet that that estimates that 32,788 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2010. This represents a decline of about 3 percent as compared to the 33,808 fatalities that occurred in 2009.
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April 6, 2011 - Design of the In-Vehicle Driving Behavior and Crash Risk Study: In Support of the SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study -
The resulting data is expected to provide a wealth of information regarding driving behavior, lane departures, and intersection activities, which is anticipated to be of interest to transportation safety researchers and others for at least 20 years.
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April 6, 2011 - Mark Your Calendar for Driving Assessment 2011! -
TRB is cosponsoring the 6th International Driving Symposium on Human Factors in Driver Assessment, Training, and Vehicle Design on June 27-30, 2011, in Olympic Valley – Lake Tahoe, California. The symposium is designed to provide an interdisciplinary forum for scientific exchange between users of driving assessment tools, applications, and technology. Attendance will be limited, so you are encouraged to register early. Early bird registration expires May 15, 2011. Full-time student reduced registration fees are available.
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April 5, 2011 - Talking Trains (Again) With IBM’s Head Of Rail Innovation -
I think connecting all of those things is information technology. The ability to seamlessly integrate that travel experience and provide all that information on the mobile device becomes very important. So if you’re arriving 15 minutes early, and if you wish to catch the earlier train, this is the information that’s pushed to you based on you opting-in to receive that information [on your phone]. You can then look at social media, like some of these coupon-based programs, so when you arrive at a certain location you get a special from the local small businesses in this area, whether that’s a restaurant or retailer. All of that information can be pushed to you, spurring economic activity around these nodes.
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April 5, 2011 - GM Woos Google: Collaboration Would Compete with Ford/Microsoft’s Sync Read more: http://wot.motortrend.com/gm-woos-google-collaboration-would-compet -
General Motors is negotiating with Internet search behemoth and new smartphone marketer Google to develop in-car telematics to compete with Ford and Microsoft’s Sync/MyFord systems, sources say. One says Google would sell its Android operating system for in-car use. The operating system supports Google’s Android smartphone, the new competitor to Apple’s iPhone.
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April 5, 2011 - A Green and Intelligent Paradigm for the Auto Industry -
IT Times was able to get some time with Choi Joong-Kyung, Minister of Knowledge Economy, to ask him questions about this Seoul Motor Show 2011. The following are excerpts from the interview with him – Ed.
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April 5, 2011 - New Video: Guangzhou’s Bus Rapid Transit System -
Streetfilms, in collaboration with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), recently released a video highlighting Guangzhou, China’s bus rapid transit (BRT) system, which we covered here on TheCityFix back in January. Guangzhou’s BRT system won the 2011 Sustainable Transport Award for making great strides in increasing mobility, reducing greenhouse emissions and air pollution, and improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
See Video>> -
April 2, 2011 - ITS America Webinar with RITA Administrator Peter Appel -
ITS America’s Spring Webinar lineup kicked off on Wednesday with a special presentation by U.S. DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) Administrator Peter Appel and Deputy Administrator Robert Bertini. View Webinar Here
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April 2, 2011 - Fewer Traffic Headaches in Downtown Chattanooga? -
This is just the start of a much bigger project. After the signals are replaced, then comes the regional ITS, or intelligent transportation system. Van Winkle compares it to T-DOT’s current interstate system, which has cameras and message boards warning drivers of traffic issues.
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April 2, 2011 - Car2go carsharing service is a great idea that deserves to grow -
Daimler has placed 300 special Smart ForTwos into downtown Austin. Anyone who wants to can pay a $35 fee (not an annual fee) and then use their membership card to unlock the doors of any unused Fortwo parked anywhere. Once you’re inside the car, you type in your PIN (this step prevents someone from absconding with a vehicle in your name if you lose your card) and then drive to where you want to go.
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April 2, 2011 - BMW to Set Up Tech Incubator in NYC, Looking for App Developers -
BMW yesterday announced it will set up a tech incubator in New York City and is prepared to invest as much as US$100 million in start-ups developing location-based smartphone apps. The fund, which will operate under the auto maker’s iVentures platform, hopes to seed innovative apps that will “improve personal mobility in urban areas and deliver extra comfort or smart advantages”, BMW said.
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April 2, 2011 - Streetline Launches Smart Parking Program for University of Maryland -
Streetline, Inc. today announced that the University of Maryland College Park has deployed Streetline’s smart parking solutions including its free smartphone app “Parker.” The new sensor-based system gives visitors real-time insight about open parking spaces in select areas throughout the College Park campus including information about the availability of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.
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April 2, 2011 - INRIX 2010 Traffic Scorecard -
Drawing on five years of trend data, this 2010 Annual Report documents that after three years of relatively modest traffic congestion, America is now back on the road to gridlock with a vengeance. The data tells congestion is on its way back, even with only modest urban area job growth. And traffic is particularly worst in areas and specific locations where congestion levels remained elevated even at the deepest depths of the recession.
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March 31, 2011 - Internship Alert: 2011 SUMMER INTERNSHIP – Eno Transportation Foundation @ Washington, DC -
The Eno Transportation Foundation (Eno) in Washington, D.C., is offering a summer 2011 internship opportunity beginning in May or June. This is a great opportunity to learn about the transportation industry and gain valuable experience and contacts. The candidate selected will assist Eno staff with our leadership development programs, public policy forums, and publications. In addition, the successful candidate will research key public policy issues, including current legislation in the U.S. Congress.
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March 31, 2011 - Hyundai Motor Company: Hyundai to Showcase New Thinking at the 2011 Seoul Motor Show -
Smart Connectivity System, which allows drivers to connect their smart phones and tablet PCs with the vehicle; Motion Sensor Moustick, which recognizes the driver’s hand movements through sensors to control the car’s audio and navigation system; Dynamic Cluster, an LCD gauge and information system that is driver-customizable; Car Browser System and Web Platform, a fully functional Internet terminal; and Multifunctional Safety Vision System, a four-camera, 360-degree view around the vehicle.
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March 31, 2011 - CMU, Cranberry to team on traffic data, technology -
“[The traffic signals] don’t have enough brains. It seems like they should, but they don’t,” said Duane McKee, Cranberry assistant township manager. Change is on the horizon, though, and Cranberry’s state-of-the-art traffic data collection systems will play a role. Cranberry is entering into an agreement with Carnegie Mellon University to further the efforts of the Traffic21 project, a university-wide research initiative aimed at integrating technology into public transportation projects.
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March 31, 2011 - Study Finds Access to Real-Time Mobile Information Could Raise Status of Public Transit: Part III -
A few months ago, Latitude Research (in collaboration with Next American City), asked regular drivers in Boston and San Francisco to go car-free for one week and to rely on other forms of transit instead. Participants shared their experiences and ideas for improvement, suggesting opportunities to redesign the experience of going car-free (e.g. not owning a car) so that it’s more convenient, personalized and enjoyable—largely through the help of mobile information technologies.
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March 31, 2011 - TE-31 Dynamic Traffic Flow Modeling and Control -
The design, analysis, and evaluation of many Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) requires a good working knowledge of traffic flow modeling and control techniques, and familiarity with powerful methodologies from the areas of optimization, control, networks and dynamic systems. This intensive 5-day course covers the basic theory and tools necessary for efficient design and evaluation of ITS on road and freeway networks.
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March 31, 2011 - Groundwork being prepared for traffic monitoring system -
Qatar will soon become the first country in the region to offer an indigenous key intelligent traffic monitoring system (ITMS) solution that will enable the development and introduction of new applications and services targeting transport, logistics and transit sectors.
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March 31, 2011 - Young entrepreneur creates Speedbump safe driving app -
There are various mobile apps that try and deter teenagers from texting and speaking on their cellphones while driving. But until this week I hadn’t come across any safe driving apps that were actually developed by one of the very teenagers who could theoretically benefit from such an app.
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March 31, 2011 - SHRP 2 Research Report S2-S05-RR-1: Design of the In-Vehicle Driving Behavior and Crash Risk Study: In Support of the SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Stud -
Design of the In-Vehicle Driving Behavior and Crash Risk Study provides a summary of the key aspects of the planning effort supporting the SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS). SHRP 2 Safety Project S05: Design of the In-Vehicle Driving Behavior and Crash Risk Study (Study Design) designed the SHRP 2 NDS, which will collect data—on the order of 1 petabyte (1,000 terabytes)—on “naturalistic,” or real-world, driving behavior over a 2-year period beginning in fall 2010. The resulting data will provide a wealth of information regarding driving behavior, lane departures, and intersection activities, which is anticipated to be of interest to transportation safety researchers and others for at least 20 years.
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March 30, 2011 - Honda Civic Gets A ChargeCar EV Conversion -
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University have debut their converted, all-electric 2002 Honda Civic. The converted vehicle is a production prototype for the ChargeCar Electric Vehicle Conversion Project. The ChargeCar project is part of Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute’s CREATE Lab, a program that works with local garages to develop necessary methods to convert 2001-2005 Honda Civics into all-electric vehicles. The project also recently converted a 2006 Toyota Scion xB.
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March 30, 2011 - Ericsson, Cisco, GE Launch New Cities Foundation -
The foundation is launching several task forces, each led by a founding member, to explore innovative solutions in pilot cities. Current task forces are focusing on mobility and transport, intelligent public buildings, waste management and e-health. Using a range of multimedia tools, these innovations will be widely shared, the organization says.
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March 30, 2011 - Ten (Possible) Transport Innovations for America in 2012 -
Two weeks ago, the US Department of Transportation released its annual funding report and funding recommendations for 2012. The funding report is prepared by the Federal Transit Administration and issued by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. Whilst not a huge document, in its 43 pages it details the funding allocations for projects that are ready and eligible for funding across the United States. Of particular interest are 10 proposed projects which are being recommended for funding. Six of these are Bus Rapid Transit Systems, eight are west of Texas, with one in Florida and the other in Michigan:
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March 30, 2011 - Rogers, Carnahan Introduce Bill to Implement Smart Transportation Technologies -
The Smart Technologies for Communities Act would create a competitive pilot program in up to six communities across the country to serve as model deployment sites for large-scale installation and operation of ITS technologies to improve safety, mobility and the environment. Examples of technology solutions include “connected” vehicles that avoid crashes, stress-sensing bridges, active traffic management to reduce congestion, electronic tolling systems to avoid the wait at the toll booth, and real-time traffic, transit, and parking information for commuters.
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March 29, 2011 - Evaluation of the Potential Safety Benefits of Collision Avoidance Technologies through Vehicle to Vehicle Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) -
Austroads has released a report that explores the potential reductions in serious casualties in Australia from widespread adoption of dedicated short-range communication-based technologies that allow for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. The report may be downloaded for free after registering on the Austroads website.
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March 29, 2011 - Transportation Secure Data Center -
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has launched a website designed to be a centralized secure repository for transportation data that may not have been able to be shared in the past because it includes personal information. Access to the data will be restricted, and users will need to complete an application process before receiving approval for controlled interaction with the data.
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March 29, 2011 - HCM2010 Webinar Series: Application of the New Active Traffic Management Chapter -
TRB is cosponsoring a webinar on April 14, 2011, from 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m. EDT, which is being conducted by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), that will explore the Highway Capacity Manual 2010’s (HCM2010) new chapter on active traffic management (ATM). The session will examine and evaluate the concepts of ATM strategies and their potential application to affect demand, capacity, and performance of highway facilities. Participants must register in advance of the webinar, space is limited, and there is a fee for non-TRB Sponsor employees.
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March 29, 2011 - Technology key to road safety -
You will be watched as you make your way home on your daily commute.
Or when you go to the mall this weekend.
Or head to the in-laws’ in a neighboring city.
In fact, drivers throughout Maricopa County typically are being monitored. But it’s not as scary as it seems. What sounds like “Big Brother” is actually SMART, an acronym for systematically managed arterials, which works to relieve traffic congestion on major commercial and metropolitan roadways.
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March 29, 2011 - New Smart Phone App Will Block Distracted Driving — But Is It Practical? -
Last week Sprint announced that later this year it will offer a smart-phone app, called Drive First, designed to minimize distracted driving. When activated, Drive First will lock the cell phone screen, redirect incoming calls to voice mail, block text-message alerts, and automatically tell incoming texters that, we’re sorry, but the number you are trying to reach is currently driving. The app will allow access to three emergency contacts and GPS navigation devices.
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March 29, 2011 - Can Auckland’s traffic jams be solved by tech? International experts meet -
Experts from Australia, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and New Zealand have arrived today to attend the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) summit, where they will discuss how technologies can improve road safety, reduce congestion and pollution, and make the best use of existing infrastructure while providing integrated transport, a release from host organization ITS NZ said today.
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March 29, 2011 - I-75 in line for ‘smart’ upgrade -
The Florida Department of Transportation plans to break ground early next year on an Intelligent Transportation System, or ITS, for the 59.7-mile stretch of I-75 between Interstate 275 near Parrish and the Sarasota/Charlotte county line. The system will include sensors embedded in the road, closed-circuit TV cameras mounted on poles, and overhead electronic signs installed at various locations, all linked by fiber-optic cable, officials said. Its goal: to better monitor and improve traffic flow, give drivers real-time information on traffic and weather conditions, help emergency crews respond quicker to crashes and make hurricane evacuations more orderly.
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March 29, 2011 - Panelists: Highway bill needs innovation funding -
SCRANTON – City Hall hosted one of the final information-gathering sessions of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Friday, as panelists offered suggestions on the nation’s future plans to three committee members. U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta listens during transportation hearing Friday in City Council chambers at Scranton City Hall. The message Friday was clear: A new highway reauthorization bill and infrastructure plan must include funding for innovation and investment into research and training.
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March 29, 2011 - Majority of Europeans Willing to Compromise to Embrace Green Travel -
Vice-President Siim Kallas, Commissioner responsible for transport, said: “These results are a great boost to the EU’s efforts to make transport more sustainable. It shows people understand the stakes and are willing to do their bit to reduce their impact on the environment. Smart initiatives such as pay-as-you-drive schemes and a single ticket covering all possible transport modes make use of the latest technology and enable people to make a well-informed choice about how they choose to travel.”
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March 29, 2011 - On a tech drive -
India needs to focus on more innovative ways to implement IT for applications other than Electronic Toll Collection in order to fully exploit the benefits of Intelligent Transport Systems.
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March 29, 2011 - Telvent to implement its SmartMobility system on Spain’s Las Pedrizas Highway -
Telvent’s SmartMobility Road Suite, operators will have real-time information of traffic conditions inside the two tunnels as well as on the highway, enabling them to respond quickly and effectively to any emergency. The SmartMobility platform will also provide drivers with real-time information on highway conditions, alerting them to accidents, traffic jams, and adverse weather conditions, in order to improve road safety. Additionally, it will enhance the efficiency and accuracy of toll operations, reducing travel times and minimizing drivers’ inconvenience.
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March 29, 2011 - Database Shows Modes of Transportation By City -
Within the U.S., there are cities in which a large fraction of the population walks to work, cities in which almost everyone drives alone to work, and cities in which more than half of the working population takes public transportation to work. A reader recently called my attention to a database he has developed that compares the various modes of transportation for more than 2,100 U.S. cities. The database is called Modes of Transportation to Work.
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March 29, 2011 - Australia’s first Smart Transport Research Centre to be launched -
IBM has entered into partnership with academia, government and industry to launch the Smart Transport Research Centre (STRC) based at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), which is being opened by the Minister for Transport, the honourable Annastacia Palasczuk. IBM will contribute its global consulting expertise and technology in developing smarter traffic solutions to help make Australia’s transportation infrastructure smarter, improve commuter experiences and reduce environmental impact.
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March 24, 2011 - WhereIsMyTransport: The solution to public transport problems? -
Transport IT infrastructure specialists, WhereIsMyTransport gives transport providers a platform on which to run all their daily operations such as routing, scheduling, reporting and monitoring which all form part of a package which provides commuters with mobile access to timetables and predication services. According to the company founders, the benefit for the consumer is simple: finding the fastest or cheapest way of getting to their destination.
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March 24, 2011 - Stockholm Nominates Five Technologies to Meet Its Needs for Intelligent Transportation Solutions -
Today the City of Stockholm jointly with Living Labs Global announced the results of its first round evaluation of 245 entries from 127 cities in 30 countries, which was carried out by an international expert jury as part of the Living Labs Global Award 2011.
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March 24, 2011 - Join next week’s webinar for an update from leadership at the Research and Innovative Technology Administration -
The ITS America Webinar Series continues next Wednesday, March 30, 2011, at 1 p.m. EDT with an update on the latest U.S. DOT research and technology initiatives from RITA Administrator Peter Appel and Deputy Administrator Robert Bertini. Do not miss this special opportunity to hear what Administrator Appel and Deputy Administrator Bertini have planned for 2011 — register today by clicking here. To register for any ITS America webinar, visit us online at http://www.itsa.org/webinar_series.html Having trouble with registration? Contact ITS America at membership@itsa.org
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March 24, 2011 - ITRI Launches 2011 Satellite Navigation Competition for Galileo -
Under the active promotion of ITRI, the current competition will for the first time include the hands-on competition with focus on the applications of Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments/Dedicated Short Range Communications, WAVE/DSRC, developed by ITRI. By sponsoring the first hands-on applications competition, ITRI sets a significant milestone because past competitions focused mainly on conceptual innovations.
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March 24, 2011 - UA engineers and Maricopa County DOT test smart traffic systems to reduce first responder deaths -
The traffic control system can simultaneously communicate and give traffic signal priority to multiple emergency vehicles converging at the same time at the same intersection. This experimental vehicle communication technology can help prevent emergency responders from colliding with one another at strategic intersections.
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March 24, 2011 - IBM drives smart transport centre -
A software system which has cut Stockholm’s gridlock by 20 per cent, and emissions by 12 per cent, is one of the assets provided by IBM to the newly established Smart Transport Research Centre, which has been formed to grapple with Australia’s growing transportation problems.
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March 22, 2011 - Wireless Data Collection System for Real-Time Arterial Travel Time Estimates -
The Oregon Department of Transportation has released a report that explores the implementation and testing of a Bluetooth-based system to collect travel time data.
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March 22, 2011 - CONFERENCE CALL FOR ABSTRACTS -
The Transportation Research Board’s
International Conference on Emerging Issues in Safe and Sustainable
Mobility for Older PersonsAugust 30 – September 1, 2011
Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Washington, DC
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March 22, 2011 - Video Drives Traffic Management Systems -
Video cameras are an essential element of “Intelligent Transportation Systems” (ITS); the modern monitoring and active traffic management systems in use around the world today. Houston TranStar’s deployment is what most people think of when they hear about traffic cameras. Those cameras collectively give TMC staff a real-time view of how traffic is flowing. Once carefully guarded by government agencies, such video is now made freely available to the media and public alike through video websites. This allows the media to tell motorists what areas to avoid, thus improving traffic flow in general, and lets drivers make those decisions before taking to the road.
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March 22, 2011 - SMARTwheel invention may prevent distracted driving -
The SMARTwheel, a steering wheel cover invented by six whiz kids from Londonderry, N.H., who call themselves the Inventioneers, was awarded the champion’s award at the First Lego League robotics competition. But what’s perhaps more impressive is that the invention has recently earned them recognition from the Obama administration’s Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood as well as props from the President himself.
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March 22, 2011 - Moble Tattletale Addresses Distracted Driving Issues Amongst Teen Drivers -
Mobile Tattletale’s patent pending technology functions with the GPS on a smart phone. When the user of the phone reaches a certain speed, predetermined by the parent, texting functions on the phone are blocked until the speed is reduced below the speed setting.
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March 22, 2011 - Carnegie Mellon University seeks to expand research programs into N.Y. -
Carnegie Mellon has developed partnerships with New York University, the University of Toronto, City University of New York, and IBM…
Carnegie Mellon’s interests are in two areas: a digital media program and a “Smart City” program that will be led by New York University. The proposed media program will be aimed at building upon entertainment technologies while the “Smart City” program, though led by New York University, will be strengthened by Carnegie Mellon’s research in intelligent transportation systems as well as smart infrastructure.
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March 21, 2011 - Mobile Mesonet -
A mobile mesonet is a network of mobile platforms (vehicles, trucks, buses, trains, ferries, people, etc.) that have onboard sensors and a communication system that systematically collects observations at they travel and sends them to a database for assimilation. The sensors and communications systems can range from very simple to extremely complex depending on the application in which they serve.
Mobile Environmental Sensor Network (MESNet)
is an informal group of stakeholders who share in interest in the opportunities and potential applications a mobile mesonet. MESNet. The first inaugural meeting will be held on April 12, 2011 in Washington, DC.
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March 21, 2011 - Thought controlled cars anyone? -
Wouldn’t it be great if you could control your car merely by thinking about it? The experts at the AutoNOMOS project clearly think so. After experimenting with iPhone and iPad-controlled cars, they’ve come up with something more interesting: a car you control with brainwaves.
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March 20, 2011 - CMU ChargeCar Project will turn your Honda Civic into an electric car -
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s ChargeCar Project are opening up their Forbes Avenue garage March 25 to show off the production prototype of a converted 2002 Honda Civic into an electric vehicle. The group is also taking names of Pittsburghers interested in converting their own vehicles to electric power. “For now, you can electrify any car you want — as long as it’s a Honda Civic,” joked Illah Nourbakhsh, associate research professor of robotics and head of the CREATE Lab, which runs the ChargeCar Project. The open house is slated from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 4621 Forbes Ave.
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March 20, 2011 - Carnegie Mellon University – ChargeCar Open House and Demonstration -
When: Friday March 25, 3:00-6:00 PM
Where: Electric Garage (old University Exxon)
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Come to the Electric Garage to inspect the first production prototype ChargeCar. We will have our technical staff on hand to describe the car’s technologies, provide rides in all of the ChargeCar electric vehicles and discuss the costs of conversions locally.
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March 20, 2011 - How apps are changing the way we travel: the future of in-car traffic and navigation services -
Hans-Hendrik Puvogel, general manager of INRIX Europe, discusses the factors that are driving in-car traffic information applications and where the automotive navigation industry is heading.
Gone are the days of relying on the radio for scheduled traffic information updates. In today’s fast-paced and digitally advanced world, consumers have become accustomed to having a wealth of information instantly available at the touch of a button. Today’s traveler has access to information from a plethora of sources, from sat-nav to the web and from tablets to smartphones, all of which can provide a regular stream of traffic and travel information on-demand.
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March 18, 2011 - Intelligent Transportation Systems: Intersection Monitoring -
This has led to considerable interest at the federal level in developing an intelligent, low-cost system that can detect and prevent potential collisions in real-time. Our research is aimed at the development of a system that uses video cameras to continuously gather traffic data at intersections (e.g., vehicle speeds, positions, trajectories, accelerations/decelerations, vehicle sizes, signal status etc.) which might eventually be used for collision prediction.
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March 18, 2011 - China’s largest intelligent parking garage to open in Beijing -
It is able to help drivers park their cars automatically in the parking space they want within 90 seconds through an intelligent parking system, so there is no need to drive into the garage. Compared to conventional parking, the intelligent parking can save drivers six to 10 minutes when they park or retrieve their cars?according to Beijing Construction Engineering Group Company.
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March 16, 2011 - The 10 Most Innovative Companies in Transportation -
See the list from Fast Company here. More>>
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March 15, 2011 - San Francisco to start smart parking management trial soon -
The central principle of San Francisco’s cutting-edge parking management program, SFPark, comes right from Econ 101. If there are more people looking for parking than there are parking spaces (i.e. demand is greater than supply) adjust the price of parking until there is enough turnover on a given street, or roughly one free parking space per block. Sounds simple in theory, right?
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March 15, 2011 - Global Navigation Space Systems: Reliance and Vulnerabilities -
The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) has released a report that warns that society may already be dangerously over-reliant on satellite radio navigation systems like global positioning satellites. According to the RAE, the range of applications using the technology is now so broad that, without adequate independent backup, signal failure or interference could potentially affect safety systems and other critical parts of the economy.
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March 15, 2011 - The Intersection of Urban Form and Mileage Fees: Findings from the Oregon Road User Fee Pilot Program -
The Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University has released a report that explores data from the 2006-2007 Oregon Road User Fee Pilot program to assess if and how urban form variables correlate with travel behavior changes that participants made in response to the mileage-based fee program.
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March 15, 2011 - TRB REPORT CALLS FOR COMPREHENSIVE NATIONAL TRAVEL DATA PROGRAM -
Good travel data are essential to measure and monitor the performance of the U.S. transportation system and to help guide policy choices and investments in transportation infrastructure, says a new report from the National Research Council that calls for the creation of a national travel data program. Current data are inadequate to support decision making in the transportation sector.
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March 15, 2011 - Using National Household Travel Survey Data for Transportation Decision Making: A Workshop -
TRB is sponsoring the National Household Travel Survey Data Workshop on June 6-7, 2011, in Washington, D.C. The workshop is designed to focus on the use of NHTS data to inform transportation decision making on key issues such as energy use, congestion, highway finance, and safety. The workshop will feature presentations and discussions on methods, examples, and techniques for using NHTS and other travel survey data to support transportation programs and decisions.
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March 15, 2011 - Traffic-mapping tech paints picture of post-quake Japan -
Another mapping project, OpenStreetMap Japan, is using volunteer GIS experts to create a better open-source map of Japan for use by those responding to the crisis, reports Nick Doiron, a civil engineering student at Carnegie Mellon University who has created maps for the non-profit Ushahidi. Ushahidi has been used to help responders to a number of disasters such as last year’s earthquake in Haiti, although it has not yet been deployed in Japan.
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March 15, 2011 - Private Plane Travel Site Takes Flight -
The FlyRuby website was developed to make private charter travel more efficient by 27-year-old entrepreneur and visionary, Michael Leek and Dr. Stephen Smith, a scientist at Carnegie Mellon University. FlyRuby gives travelers the ability to book exactly what they want, when they want it, without having to search through a variety of private planes and pilots because FlyRuby has already amassed all the information.
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March 15, 2011 - Video: Intelligent Transportation Systems -
This video produced by Intel is a great comprehensive visualization of what are Intelligent Transportation Systems, presented in laymen’s terms.
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March 14, 2011 - Alberta Transportation pilot project stops ice from forming -
“It’s the actual enhancement of the safety level here that we’re interested in,” said Allan Lo, an intelligent-transportation-systems and traffic-safety specialist with Alberta Transportation. “The system is designed to prevent ice from forming which is different from, shall we say, traditional methods of de-icing the roadway. If the ice does not have a chance to form and bond to the road the system uses less chemical (to de-ice the pavement).”
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March 14, 2011 - Green will build 66 electric-car charging stations in Pa. -
A San Diego start-up company announced plans Friday to build 66 electric-car charging stations in Pennsylvania, mostly around Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
The $2.6 million project is expected to be finished by the middle of next year and is scaled to accommodate 33,000 electric vehicles, said Mariana Gerzanych, chief executive officer of 350Green. There is just a small fraction of that number of electric cars on Pennsylvania roads, but Gerzanych predicted the presence of charging stations would help encourage people to buy more of them.
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March 14, 2011 - Suzuki Burgman fuel-cell scooter approved for EU public consumption -
LOUGHBOROUGH, England–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Intelligent Energy, the global clean power systems company, and Suzuki Motor Corporation, have today announced that the jointly developed Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter has obtained Whole Vehicle Type Approval (WVTA) – the first time any fuel cell vehicle has achieved this level of certification. WVTA qualifies the Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter design as safe to use on public roads without having to be inspected and tested individually, and brings zero emission motorcycles a step closer to becoming commercially available.
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March 14, 2011 - ‘Smart’ signals to ease traffic in Cranberry -
That’s when Cranberry will flip the switch on a newly expanded smart-signal system that ignores municipal boundaries by addressing traffic flow on two main corridors that pass through four towns. An effect of the expanding system will be the aforementioned two-minute quicker ride on Freedom Road. It’s good news for those who use the road and for transportation planners who are portraying Cranberry as a model to be emulated. “They’re leading the way, both from a technological standpoint as well as from the perspective of partnership building with surrounding municipalities,” said Doug Smith, transportation planner with the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission in Pittsburgh.
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March 11, 2011 - US Gets a Lesson from Develping Countries on Buses -
The lowly bus is getting a makeover that could one day help U.S. workers whiz past traffic to their jobs on time while saving fuel in the country that is the world’s largest oil consumer. For decades, most U.S. commuters have maligned buses as noisy, dirty and much slower than cars in city traffic, since they make many stops. But about 120 cities in developing economies from Colombia to China that have invested in high-technology systems known as bus rapid transit, or B.R.T., have taken the transport mode to a higher level.
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March 10, 2011 - An app for those nasty potholes; Deeplocal sells transit app RouteShout -
Just in time for the spring thaw comes a new weapon against Pittsburgh potholes, a smartphone app that tracks their location and subtly takes the city to task for leaving them unattended over time. Carnegie Mellon University’s RODAS Project–that’s Road Damage Assessment System–gives GPS-linked smartphone users the tools to snap pictures of potholes and upload them on Facebook.
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March 10, 2011 - AAA praises top vehicle innovations -
A start-stop engine that shuts off when the car stops and instantly restarts when the driver takes his or her foot off the brake pedal. An SUV that “senses” when a driver has entered a curve too fast and automatically backs off the throttle. Inflatable rear seat belts designed to bring some of the crash protection of an air bag to the back seat.
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March 10, 2011 - Self-driving car on road out of science fiction -
The idea of a car that drives itself was viewed until recently as some high-tech nerd’s daydream or even the stuff of science fiction, but it may not be that long before a driverless car is idling at an intersection near you. “In my estimation, by 2015 we will have at least an engineering prototype of a vehicle with reasonable capabilities to be called a completely autonomous vehicle. In about 10 years roughly, we should be able to make it commercially available,” said Raj Rajkumar, co-director of General Motors-Carnegie Mellon Collaborative Research Labs, which oversees GM’s self-driving vehicle project.
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March 10, 2011 - IBM Names First Recipients Of Smarter Cities Challenge Grants -
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today selected 24 cities worldwide to receive IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grants. The grants provide the cities with access to IBM’s top experts to analyze and recommend ways they can become even better place in which to live, work and play. The IBM Smarter Cities Challenge is a competitive grant program in which IBM is awarding a total of $50 million worth of technology and services to 100 municipalities worldwide over the next three years. Teams of specially selected IBM experts will provide city leaders with analysis and recommendations to support successful growth, better delivery of municipal services, more citizen engagement, and improved efficiency.
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March 10, 2011 - TAC Transportation Intelligence Bulletin – February 2011 -
The Transportation Association of Canada has released the lastest issue of its monthly Transportation Intelligence Bulletin. The newsletter highlights innovative technologies and practices in the fields of traffic control, management, safety, and urban transportation.
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March 10, 2011 - Quantifying Incident-Induced Travel Delays on Freeways Using Traffic Sensor Data: Phase II -
The Washington State Department of Transportation has released a report that explores development of a new approach to quantify incident-induced travel delays over a regional freeway network using existing traffic sensor measurements.
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March 10, 2011 - Decision Support Tools to Support the Operations of Traffic Management Centers (TMC) -
The Florida Department of Transportation has released a report that explores a method to estimate traffic diversion based on the traffic detector and incident data; ways to determine the time lag between incident occurrence and database recording; processes to estimate freeway secondary crashes and potential incident impacts on mobility; and procedures to allow incidents to be classified into categories based on primary incident attributes and impacts.
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March 10, 2011 - Key Transportation Indicators -
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics, a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration, has updated its report that examines transportation indicators that provide context about the economy and society in which transportation functions, or that convey information about system-wide or specific aspects of transportation.
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March 10, 2011 - Intelligent Transportation Systems and Vehicle–Highway Automation 2010 -
TRB’s Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2189 contains 12 papers that explore real-time parking information, capability-enhanced probe vehicle surveillance system with vehicle-to-vehicle communications, in-vehicle and infrastructure-based collision warnings to nonviolating drivers, emergency response technology and an integrated active transportation system, and a rural variable speed limit system.
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March 10, 2011 - 1st Conference of Transportation Research Group of India -
TRB is cosponsoring the 1st Conference of Transportation Research Group of India (CTRG) on December 7-10, 2011, in Bangalore, India. The conference is designed to facilitate the interchange of ideas among transportation researchers, educators, managers, and policy makers from all over the world to address India’s transportation needs.
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March 10, 2011 - 2011 International Visualization in Transportation Symposium -
TRB is sponsoring 2011 International Visualization in Transportation Symposium on August 20-23, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. The symposium is designed to highlight improving technologies and methods, feature case studies or successful practices, and illuminate the expanding role of visualization in transportation planning, design, construction, maintenance, and data management and analysis. Individuals or groups wishing to present at the symposium must submit an abstract by April 1, 2011.
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March 10, 2011 - 28th International Bridge Conference -
TRB is cosponsoring the 28th International Bridge Conference (IBC 2011) on June 5-8, 2011, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The meeting annually attracts more than 1,600 bridge owners and engineers, senior policy makers, government officials, bridge designers, construction executives, and suppliers from throughout the United States and abroad. The conference will include topical workshops, seminars, and technical sessions, and associated meetings and exhibits.
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March 10, 2011 - ITS JPO Announces New Vacancy for Transportation Specialist: Data and Road Weather -
The Research and Innovation Technology Administration (RITA) is looking for a highly talented Transportation Specialist with a passion for transportation data and analysis to join the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) as the Connected Vehicle Data and Weather Program Manager. This is an opportunity to work on one of the most exciting multimodal programs at the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT). Located at the U.S. DOT headquarters in Washington, DC, the ITS-JPO manages, coordinates and supports research programs focused on applying advanced technologies to transform the performance of our Nation’s surface transportation system. The vacancy announcement closes on Wednesday, March 16, 2011.
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March 10, 2011 - Bus rapid transit: like a subway, only cheaper -
A bus is a bus, right? Wrong. The latest video from Streetfilms’ “Moving Beyond the Automobile” series shows how bus rapid transit can be a more effective mode of transportation than traditional buses.“A bus rapid transit system is essentially a way of creating a subway or metro quality service and speed using buses and special stations,” said Walter Hook, executive director of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy.
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March 10, 2011 - Technology + Transportation; Making Efficient use of Transit Resources -
You may not realize it yet, but technology is quickly transforming the way we perceive and interact with public and shared transportation systems. From traditional bus and rail systems to taxis and car/bicycle sharing systems, technology is changing the transportation landscape. Mobile and web-based applications enable us to access real-time route information, make more efficient use of resources, and make wiser decisions about how we travel.
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March 9, 2011 - The Beat could become GM’s second electric car in growing Indian market -
General Motors of India announced last week that a pre-production version of its all-electric Chevrolet Beat mini-car would go on display in April to spur interest for what could become GM India’s second Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV). In January 2010, at GM’s 10th Auto Expo, Chevrolet showcased its first BEV concept, the e-Spark mini-car, a project jointly created with long-established Indian electric automaker REVAi. The e-Spark is scheduled to launch as India’s first 4-door electric passenger car by the end of 2011. The popular car was chosen as the first to electrify, even as GM also ramped up production for the internal-combustion-powered Spark, and the 100,000th model traversed the assembly line not long after.
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March 9, 2011 - Slugging — The People’s Transit -
In Washington, D.C., commuters have taken thousands of cars off highways via a homegrown rideshare system known as “slugging.” Can the government create more slugs — without stepping on any?…
Heinrich and Susan Shaheen, a transportation researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, suspect the change has a lot to do with new technology. With the ubiquity of smart phones, real-time ridesharing — a close cousin of the casual carpool — suddenly has much greater appeal to transportation officials and academics. Theoretically, a driver with a GPS application could spot passengers standing on any street corner in the city.
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March 8, 2011 - Google offers drivers real-time travel info -
Searching for a fast route around traffic congestion might seem like a futile exercise in the Chicago area, but Google is giving it a shot. Google Maps Navigation on Monday introduced an update to its driving directions software that uses real-time traffic information to recommend routes. Google previously generated the route based solely on the shortest mileage to a destination. It would also generate alternative directions, such as one that uses highways instead of city streets.
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March 7, 2011 - CITY OF HOUSTON LAUNCHES NEW ARTERIAL TRAVEL TIME TOOL IN WEST HOUSTON -
Houston Mayor Annise Parker and the City of Houston’s Department of Public Works & Engineering announced a new traffic management tool for Houston drivers using state-of-the-art Bluetooth technology. This probe-based travel time approach allows drivers to see real-time travel flow via the Houston TranStar web site using Bluetooth readers, placed at key locations in west Houston. Commuters in the area will now be able to navigate around potentially congested roadways, saving time and money. It’s the largest known deployment of Bluetooth technology by a governmental agency nationwide.
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March 7, 2011 - Brussels to launch electric vehicle car sharing program in March -
In March, a company by the name of Zen Car will launch an electric vehicle car sharing scheme in the city of Brussels, Belgium. Zen Car says that 29 plug-ins will hit the streets and fifteen charging stations will pop up throughout the city to support the electric fleet. Membership costs are pegged at 40 euros ($55 U.S. at the current exchange rate), plus 6 euros ($8 U.S) a month and 7 euros ($10 U.S.) per hour spent behind the wheel.
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March 7, 2011 - Smart Card Alliance to host workshop on open bank card payments for transit -
The Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council is holding a full day workshop on the importance of open bank card payments for public transportation operators and contractors. The event, slated for Sunday, March 27 at the Hilton Miami Downtown Hotel, will provide transit agencies with a detailed understanding of open bank card contactless payments technology and open bank card payments. The full-day workshop will discuss alternative architectures for open transit fare payment and provide practical planning and implementation guidance for developing the business case and procurement strategy for open bank card payments.
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March 2, 2011 - RouteMatch Software Acquires RouteShout -
RouteMatch Software, Inc. (www.routematch.com ) today announced its acquisition of RouteShout™ (www.routeshout.com ), an award-winning Traveler Information Systems (TIS) product developed by interactive mobility pioneers Deeplocal. Financial terms were undisclosed. The acquisition of RouteShout from the Carnegie Mellon University spin-out expands RouteMatch’s TIS initiatives, and sharpens RouteMatch’s focus on developing innovative technologies for transit agencies. RouteShout’s capabilities strongly complement RouteMatch’s paratransit and fixed-route products, adopted by more than 300 US and international transit agencies.
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March 2, 2011 - Cellphone Networks and the Future of Traffic -
Ask someone what they think the future of driving is and the most likely response is autonomous cars. It’s true sensing and autonomy are dramatically changing cars, but there’s another information revolution afoot. Cheap sensors and network availability aren’t just making cars smarter, they’re boosting the brainpower of the environment cars drive in.
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March 2, 2011 - Technology transforms auto safety -
Cars that respond to voice commands. Cars that park themselves. Cars that alert you when you’re drowsy, vibrate like a rumble strip when you drift into the next lane, or even slam on your brakes before you slam into a pedestrian.
Cutting-edge auto technology follows a predictable path. Though they usually start at the high end, advances that address basic safety problems eventually make their way throughout automakers’ product lines.
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March 2, 2011 - Real – Time Data Improves Traffic Flow on City Streets -
SDOT has begun changing the timing of lights on selected major corridors so that you won’t experience the delay from the side street as described above. How? Well, SDOT is taking away the guess work of signal timing by adding technology using wireless magnetometers which are embedded in the pavement. The magnetometers collect data and feed the information to SDOT’s traffic signal system as well as the department’s Traveler’s Information Map.
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March 2, 2011 - Parker, ParkNow make finding parking, paying for it easier -
A new app, called Parker, shows drivers on their iPhone where to find available metered parking spaces in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. The application costs $1.99 to download and is available on the iPhone. It’s coming to Android in a couple months, according to Streetline, maker of the app. Parker is also in use on Roosevelt Island, N.Y., and will soon make its debut at the Fort Totten Metro station in Washington, D.C.
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March 2, 2011 - BMW Activate the Future -
Four films about the future of mobility. Watch here.
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March 2, 2011 - Study reveals plug-in hybrids to drive down CO2 emissions -
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will reduce CO2 and nitrogen oxide emissions levels – but they are also expected to push up sulphur oxide emissions.
According to the team at Carnegie Mellon University the net emissions from the use of plug-in vehicles depends primarily on the efficiency of the entire vehicle fleet, charging strategy, battery pack capacity and driving patterns. They modelled the net emissions in two regional transmission operators under different scenarios for future power generation.
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March 1, 2011 - 2011 TransITech Conference -
The 2011 TransITech Conference is scheduled for March 29-March 31, 2011 (Tuesday through Thursday), at the Hilton Miami Downtown in Miami, FL.
This conference focuses on information technology, traveler information and intelligent transportation system issues affecting public transportation systems. Also features an products and services showcase.
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February 28, 2011 - FlyRuby Aims to Be the Kayak of Private Air Travel -
The project of founder and CEO Michael Leek, flyRuby owes its technology to CTO Dr. Stephen Smith, who, working in conjunction with Carnegie Mellon University, developed the algorithms as part of a DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) research initiative to assist the U.S. Air Force. Operating in a similar manner to the technology behind commercial airline booking sites, flyRuby’s artificial intelligence instantly scans thousands of flight routes and seating charts for private flights across the country, finding available seating, and streamlining the booking process.
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February 28, 2011 - Cutting commutes with data mining -
The competition was to produce an algorithm to forecast travel times on the M4 for intervals ranging from 15 minutes to 24 hours with the greatest accuracy. It was contested by 364 teams from the Kaggle community — consisting of professional data analysts, statisticians and students from around the world — who used over two years worth of historical data from the NSW roads and traffic authority…
The $10,000 prize was taken out by Jose Gonzalez-Brenes (Carnegie Mellon University) and Guido Matias Cortes (University of British Columbia), two Costa Rican-born students based in North America whose algorithm will power the RTA live-traffic website and inform M4 management and operations, according to Kaggle founder Anthony Goldbloom.
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February 28, 2011 - Booz Allen Wins U.S. Department of Transportation Contract to Support Intelligent Transportation Efforts -
Booz Allen Hamilton announced it has won a contract to help the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) enhance intelligent transportation systems, such as those that allow vehicles, infrastructure, and passengers’ personal communications devices to communicate. The multiple-award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract in support of the FHWA Research & Innovation Technology Administration (RITA) Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) has a maximum value of $113.8 million over 5 years.
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February 28, 2011 - ITS America Announces Call for Entries for 2011 Best of ITS Awards -
The nation’s largest transportation technology association, the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America), will recognize organizations that have produced the most innovative products and services in the intelligent transportation systems industry during the 2011 Best of ITS Awards at the 18th World Congress & Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. ITS America members, including private corporations, research institutions and public agencies, can submit entries for the highly competitive program until May 31, 2011.
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February 28, 2011 - Study finds PHEVs will reduce net emissions of CO2 and NOx; upward pressure on SO2 -
A team at Carnegie Mellon University has modeled the net emissions in two regional transmission operators (PJM and NYISO) from PHEVs under different scenarios for future power generation; different size battery packs; charging strategies (home, work and smart); and PHEV fleet percentages between 0.4 and 50%. Scott Peterson, J. F. Whitacre and Jay Apt found that compared to 2005 gasoline fleet efficiency levels, all charging strategies and CD mode efficiencies yield reduction of CO2 emissions.
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February 28, 2011 - RITA Job Announcement – Associate Administrator, Research, Development and Technology (RD&T) -
JOB SUMMARY:
Come on board with us and take a journey that will challenge your mind and develop your career. The quality of our lives, the shape of our communities and the productivity of our Nation’s economy depend on our transportation systems. We recognize and value the importance of our workforce and the diversity of backgrounds and ideas that each employee brings. The U.S. Department of Transportation: Careers in Motion.
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February 27, 2011 - The future of urban transportation is in electric mobility -
Nowadays safe, efficient public transportation is more than ever a crucial factor when it comes to the quality of life and competitiveness of many of the world’s cities and regions. Sustainable, optimally integrated mobility is one of the key issues of the 21st Century. Hans-Jörg Grundmann, CEO of the Siemens Mobility Division, said, “Efficient urban transportation and traffic management systems are the keys to overcoming the great challenges of our day, for example reducing greenhouse gases and traffic congestion. Electrically powered means of transportation, such as metros, tramway systems and buses, reduce energy consumption and conserve the environment. Siemens is therefore convinced that future urban transportation will largely be dominated by electric mobility.”
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February 24, 2011 - Vehicle-to-Vehicle WiFi Could Be a Lifesaver -
A research collaboration group, led by the Department of Transportation’s Intelligent Transportation Systems, will have trials and driving clinics of the system this summer. It aims to have the research phase completed in 2013 and is working on common communication standards for system deployment.
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February 24, 2011 - Sobyanin to Fix Moscow Traffic From Seoul -
The mayor and his team will meet with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, as well as a former mayor of Seoul and the management of Samsung, Hyundai, LG and Lotte, a source close to the Moscow government told Interfax. The Korean side will show Sobyanin robotic parking, the local intelligent transportation system and buses that run on compressed natural gas.
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February 24, 2011 - ACS, A Xerox Company, to Keep Los Angeles Drivers Moving with Electronic Toll Collection for New Express Lanes -
DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Drivers on two of the busiest highways in Los Angeles County could cut their travel times under a new electronic toll system allowing single passenger vehicles to shift into the HOV lanes. Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS), A Xerox Company (NYSE: XRX), will establish the program allowing toll rates to change based on traffic levels to help reduce highway congestion on the new ‘ExpressLanes’.
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February 24, 2011 - Smart-phone application tracks Honolulu’s traffic -
Chang created the free “Hawaii Traffic Cams” app for Android smart phones (it’s cheaper to develop for Androids). It launched in May. Telling a few Facebook friends and his co-workers was the extent of his marketing effort. To date, it’s been downloaded more than 10,000 times.
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February 24, 2011 - New York City Unveils Real-Time 311 Request Map -
New York City has launched a new map to track citizens’ complaints and requests in real time as they’re entered through the city’s 311 service request program.The New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications says that in addition to promoting transparency, the map has the potential to be an important tool for intelligence gathering.
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February 24, 2011 - ITS Japan News: Governments Encourage Clean Energy Vehicles, Industry Gears Up For EV -
As next-generation cars, Electric Vehicles (EV) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) are integral to advanced mobile societies with ITS technologies, including a re-charging facilities network. Our article focuses on the latest approach of our government and auto-manufacturers to EVs and PHEVs.
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February 24, 2011 - U.S. Department of Commerce Infrastructure/Multimodal Business Development Mission to Qatar and U.A.E. -
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke will lead a Infrastructure/Multimodal Business Development Mission to Doha, Qatar and Abu Dhabi and Dubai, U.A.E. that will highlight export opportunities for U.S. businesses that have products or services that support the multimodal transportation and infrastructure sectors. This mission advances President Obama’s National Export Initiative which aims to double U.S. exports within five years, support economic growth and create jobs.
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February 24, 2011 - Systems, Not Technology, May Propel the Transportation of Tomorrow -
Technology is certain to change the way we move in the coming years. But the limiting factor facing the development of American transportation probably isn’t a technological one, but rather a psychological one. In the United States, more than anywhere else, people see their cars as extensions of their personality. The key to more efficient travel tomorrow, in the eyes of the panelists, is to shift behavior away from a single-car model to a systems model — whereby multiple modes of transportation carry a person from door to door.
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February 24, 2011 - Highway Safety Information System Brochure -
The Federal Highway Administration has released a brochure that describes the Highway Safety Information System, which is a roadway–based system that provides data on accident, roadway, and traffic variables. The data are acquired annually from a select group of states, processed into a common computer format, documented, and prepared for analysis. HSIS is used in support of the FHWA safety research program and provides input for program policy decisions.
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February 24, 2011 - Human Performance, Simulation, and User Information Research -
TRB’s Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2185 contains 10 papers that explore driver response to adaptive lane departure warning system, changes in spatial attention with dual-task driving, characterization of longitudinal driving behavior, characterizing individual driver response to yellow change interval at signalized intersections, driving simulator study of steering adaptation patterns, simulator fidelity and validity in a transfer-of-training context, effect of simulator motion cuing on steering control performance, safety effectiveness of advance street name signs, roadway guide signs at an international airport, and modeling travelers’ responses to incident information provided by variable message signs.
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February 21, 2011 - CMU pushes conversion kit for gasoline cars -
Illah Nourbakhsh’s dream is for Pittsburgh to become the electric car capital of the country.
The Carnegie Mellon University robotics professor and a team of CMU colleagues, with help from an Oakland auto repair shop, have developed a process for converting family gas guzzlers into battery-powered electric cars with a fraction of the operating and repair costs of a new electric car. They call it the Charge Car.
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February 21, 2011 - Infrastructure Summit: Transportation’s Primed for Change -
The future of American transportation has long been a subject for speculation and political debate. But now that EVs have blasted into the mainstream and captured national attention, the conversation has moved from conjecture to reality. Specifics — from “connected” cars to dashboard parking systems to single-occupant “bubble” vehicles — were the name of the game at “Super Highway: Transport in the Twenty-First Century,” a panel at the Economist’s Intelligent Infrastructure conference, held yesterday in New York City.
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February 18, 2011 - Institute of Transportation Engineers – Call for Nominations for ITS Award -
Each year, the Institute of Transportation Engineers sponsors an awards program to honor outstanding achievement in transportation engineering and distinguished service to ITE. The awards bestow international recognition upon the recipients and increase the public’s awareness of the role and responsibilities of the transportation engineer. Below is the current call for nominations for the ITE Management & Operations/Intelligent Transportation Systems (M&O/ITS) Council: The ITE M&O/ITS Council is seeking nominations for the ITS Project of the Year Award. Each year an award is presented for the development and/or implementation of a notable project that demonstrates the use of ITS technologies to improve the efficiency and/or safety of transportation facilities. Click below for the application.
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February 17, 2011 - International Transportation Economic Development Conference (I-TED) 2011 – May1-3 @ Charleston, WV (USA) -
I-TED 2011 will be the fourth international conference to concentrate on the link between transportation and economic development. This conference will focus on issues and challenges related to the economy, global concerns and financial constraints. Participants will discuss and address the emerging transportation needs of business and economic development communities at local, regional, state, national and global levels. Subjects and perspectives will include public and private sectors; academic, practitioner and policy issues; theory, concepts and operational tools; and, all transportation modes and their relationship to economic development.
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February 17, 2011 - Ford Intelligent Vehicles Coming Soon Announces Fresno Ford Dealer -
Visalia Ford, a leading Fresno Ford dealer, is happy to announce to its customers that Ford is aggressively moving its commitment forward to wirelessly connected intelligent vehicles, known as vehicle-to-vehicle communications, becoming the first automaker to build prototype vehicles across the U.S. “Ford believes intelligent vehicles that talk to each other through advanced Wi-Fi are the next frontier of collision avoidance innovations that could revolutionize the driving experience and hold the potential of helping reduce many crashes,” said Sue Cischke>
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February 17, 2011 - Why Are Americans Driving Less? -
Over the years, car ownership and driving mileage have tended to increase with great regularity. But logic suggests that this march toward complete motorization would eventually plateau — and that’s exactly what transportation scholars have begun to notice. A new study (pdf) by Adam Millard-Ball and Lee Schipper looked at driving behavior in several countries, including the United States, and found some compelling evidence that America has reached a “saturation point for vehicle ownership and travel”.
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February 17, 2011 - Kista Science City seeks Intelligent Transport Solutions -
We in Kista Science City welcome anyone wishing to explore and develop Intelligent Transport Solutions that are innovative, customer-oriented traveler services aiming to support mobile shift, from car to Public Transport and for biking and walking.
Kista Science City has got an IT infrastructure known as best practice, we do have a comprehensive network of hundreds of innovative companies in ICT as for example Ericsson, Oracle, Microsoft, IBM and here are two universities and about one thousand researchers in several ICT research institutes. We are developing Kista into a testbed for Intelligent Transport Solutions that combines modern technologies with social entrepreneurship, co-creation, crowdsourcing and open innovation.
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February 17, 2011 - ITS Canada is now organizing its 14th Annual Conference & General Meeting -
to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, from June 12-15th, 2011. The Conference and Annual General Meeting will be held at the venerable Fairmont Hotel Vancouver in downtown Vancouver, within walking distance of the harbour and the new Canada Line rapid transit facility that will carry delegates quickly and efficiently from the Vancouver International Airport. The hotel boasts the largest convention space on a single floor in the city. The overall conference theme is “Investing in the Future … Now!”
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February 17, 2011 - ITS AMERICA’S WEBINAR SERIES -
By logging on once a month to our webinar series, you will stay up to date with intelligent transportation systems research, deployment, and policy from industry leaders and high-ranking government officials from around the world. Each webinar will close with a Q&A session: submit your questions online throughout the webinar via chat and session moderators will pose the top questions to the featured presenter.
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February 16, 2011 - Call for Papers – 2011 IEEE International Conference on Vehicular Electronics and Safety -
The International Conference on Vehicular Electronics and Safety (ICVES’11) is an annual forum sponsored by the IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Society. It brings together researchers and practitioners to discuss vehicle electronics, and safety systems research and practice. ICVES’11 welcomes papers dealing with any aspect of vehicle electronics and safety systems.
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February 15, 2011 - FHWA R&T Now – January 2011 -
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released the latest issue of its Research and Technology (R&T) Now news update. The update reports on research, technology, and development activities taking place within the U.S. Department of Transportation.
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February 15, 2011 - Synthesis of Congestion Pricing-Related Environmental Impact Analyses -
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Operations has released a report that summarizes the state-of-the-practice and presents a recommended framework for before-after evaluations of the environmental impacts of congestion pricing projects, such as high-occupancy toll lanes and cordon for area pricing schemes.
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February 15, 2011 - Information Systems, Geographic Information Systems, and Advanced Computing 2010 -
TRB’s Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2183 contains 14 papers that explore origin-destination matrix generation; a household travel data simulation tool; an urban travel route and activity choice survey; augmenting transit trip characterization and travel behavior comprehension; improving data quality, accuracy, and response in on-board surveys; and assessing the quality of origin-destination matrices derived from activity travel surveys.
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February 15, 2011 - IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society January 2011 Newsletter -
This newsletter highlight lots of good ITS conferences and calls for papers for 2011.
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February 15, 2011 - On-Line Network-Enabled Intelligent Transportation Systems provide powerful new tools to reduce traffic congestion and improve transportation -
One of the world’s most advanced networking facilities for solving traffic congestion and urban transportation issues was officially launched today, giving researchers and planners tremendous new capacity to tackle traffic congestion and complex traffic management tasks. Core funding of C$700,000 was provided by CANARIE – Canada’s Advanced Research and Innovation Network (www.canarie.ca), and the system relies on CANARIE’s ultra high-speed, high-bandwidth capabilities to enable real-time solutions to multifaceted transportation problems.
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February 15, 2011 - GM Foundation Gives $70,000 to Carnegie Mellon University -
PITTSBURGH, Feb. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The General Motors Foundation today announced a $70,000 donation to Carnegie Mellon University, a collaborator with GM and the Foundation on award-winning autonomous driving projects. GM Executive Director of Research and Development Walt Dorfstatter made the award on behalf of the Foundation at the Pittsburgh Auto Show. GM’s partnership with Carnegie Mellon dates to 1977.
“Our support of Carnegie Mellon is guided by the belief that investment in science and technology education will help shape the automotive future and strengthen the nation’s global competitiveness,” Dorfstatter said. “Automotive companies are making great strides in developing and adopting new technologies and Carnegie Mellon’s exceptional programs foster a new generation of talent that can significantly accelerate the pace of automotive innovation.”
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February 15, 2011 - Wireless Innovation Forum Announces New “White Space” Communications Initiatives -
Groups seeking inputs for the development of new specifications and use cases
The Wireless Innovation Forum (SDR Forum version 2.0), a non-profit organization dedicated to driving the future of radio communications and systems worldwide, announced today the formation of two new groups focused on “white space” communications.
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February 14, 2011 - Over the Bars in Milwaukee -
Yesterday Tom Held of the Journal Sentinel reported that Milwaukee’s Mayor Tom Barrett thinks bike sharing might be a good fit for Milwaukee. Madison recently approved a B-cycle/Trek sponsored bike sharing system that will launch later this year. Washington, D.C. recently announced it is expanding it’s Capital Bike-share. New York City put out a major RFP to get bike share program in Gotham City. From New York to Portland and many places in between like Louisville and Des Moines, bike sharing is taking off in the United States.
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February 14, 2011 - ITS JPO Announces Test Data Sets Request for Procurement -
The Real-Time Data Capture and Management Program Announces a Test Data Sets Request for Procurement (RFP) and Request for Applications (RFA), issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on 2/5/11 with the proposal due date of 4:00 PM EDT on 3/15/11.
An initial offering to “Clean-up of Existing Data Sets to Support Dynamic Mobility Applications Development,” was issued on 2/5/11 with the proposal due date of 4:00 PM EDT on 3/15/11. As a result of this solicitation, FHWA anticipates collecting multiple “cleaned up” research-ready data sets that meet the minimum requirements of this solicitation and program objectives, within available resources.
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February 14, 2011 - Traffic21 Researchers Receive IBM Faculty Award -
The team of Aaron Steinfeld (Robotics), Anthony Tomasic (ISR), and John
Zimmerman (HCII, Design) from the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Accessible
Public Transportation (http://www.rercapt.org) received a 2010 IBM Faculty
Award to further their collaboration with accessibility colleagues at IBM
Research – Tokyo. The RERC-APT and IBM researchers are working to increase
accessibility to web pages using machine learning techniques, especially
with respect to transportation. For example, a blind person may have
difficulty looking up information about a bus route. The team is exploring
how human interaction, machine learning, and website
markup can help remove such barriers.
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February 14, 2011 - We know where you’ve been: privacy, congestion tracking, and the future -
So public officials are searching for strategies to use existing highway capacity more efficiently. Recently they’ve begun experimenting with a new strategy for controlling congestion: demand-based pricing of scarce road capacity. Congestion pricing promises to kill two pigs with one bird, keeping traffic flowing smoothly while simultaneously generating new revenue that can be used for public investments. New technologies—notably RFID transponders and license-plate-reading cameras—are allowing the replacement of traditional tollbooths with cashless tolling at freeway speeds.
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February 10, 2011 - USDOT RITA Announces Research Areas for Mobility Applications of Connected Vehicle Data -
Research Goals
A successful Dynamic Mobility Applications program will lead to the more rapid and cost-effective deployment of interoperable technologies and applications that increase system efficiency and improve individual mobility. The Dynamic Mobility Applications program will act to promote the highest levels of collaboration and cooperation in the research and development of transformative mobility applications. Further, the program will seek to facilitate the highest level of free and open competition in the commercialization of mobility applications as well as their integration and maintenance. The Dynamic Mobility Applications program positions the federal government to take on an appropriate and influential role as a technology steward for the continually evolving integrated transportation system.
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