Providing Open Source CV Applications and Sharing Data

Launch of the Tampa CV Pilot data on ITS DataHub becomes the platform’s most successful launch to-date

One of the key goals of the Connected Vehicle (CV) Pilot Deployment program is to produce and provide open data from the three Pilots to the public in a quick and helpful manner for use by third-party researchers and developers. In March 2019, Tampa (THEA) became the second CV Pilot project site to complete its data pipeline and send continuous data deliveries to the ITS DataHub, an online platform that provides a single point of entry to discover publicly available U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) ITS research data.

The message types the Tampa (THEA) Pilot has posted follow the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J2735 data standards and include:

1. Basic Safety Messages (BSM): Used to exchange safety data regarding vehicles' current attributes, such as speed and path predicted, the Tampa BSM data set includes data generated by participant and public transportation vehicle onboard units (OBUs) transmitted to roadside units (RSUs) located throughout the Tampa pilot area.

2. Traveler Information Messages (TIM): Used to convey important traffic information and provide situational awareness warnings to the driver, the Tampa TIM data set includes messages that are transmitted from RSUs located throughout the Tampa pilot study area to OBUs of equipped vehicles.

3. Signal Phasing and Timing (SPaT) Messages: Used to convey the current status of one or more signalized intersections, the Tampa SPaT data set includes messages transmitted by RSUs located throughout the Tampa pilot area. Note that Tampa is the first of the CV Pilots to upload SPaT data.

Post-launch outreach and engagement was conducted to maximize the use of the Tampa (THEA) datasets in order to inspire additional research in transportation and related fields. The Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office (JPO) Data Program announced the launch of the Tampa Pilot’s three new data sets through the ITS-JPO e-newsletter. Subsequent promotional tweets were also sent out from the ITS JPO, ITS DataHub and Tampa (THEA) CV Pilot twitter handles. The datasets were also plugged during several ITS-related conferences.

The collective launch of the Tampa (THEA) datasets and their promotion was the most successful since the launch of the ITS DataHub, with the highest number of public users viewing, downloading and engaging with the data in the first month of its release. In the first month after launch, all three Tampa datasets (BSM, TIM and SPaT) received nearly 1,000 views and over 50 downloads, with the Tampa BSM dataset being the most popular. The Speed Map for Tampa CV BSM, a visualization from the Tampa CV BSM data, also received significant viewership, showing the popularity not only of the datasets, but on examples of how the datasets can be used for follow-on research.

By providing access to these data, the USDOT aims to enable third-party research into the effectiveness of emerging ITS technologies, preliminary development of third-party applications, and harmonization of data across similar collections. USDOT anticipates further cross-promotion of these data with USDOT Partners and Data Providers to achieve maximum access of this data to users interested in further ITS research.