The U.S. Department of Transportation Releases New Publications

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has released several new reports highlighting its latest research initiatives and findings: 

• Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program, Phase 2 Outreach Plan Update -- Tampa (THEA): This document presents the Outreach Plan for the Tampa Connected Vehicle Pilot. The goal of the pilot deployment is to advance and enable safe, interoperable, networked wireless communications among vehicles and the infrastructure to reduce traffic congestion, improve safety, and decrease emissions. The pilot deployment is proceeding in three phases: (1) concept development; (2) design, implementation and testing; and (3) operation, maintenance, impact assessment, and performance measurement. This Outreach Plan is a revised version of the Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program Phase 1 Outreach Plan -- Tampa (THEA). It is a high-level plan for the management of outreach activities throughout the deployment phases (phases 2 and 3). Key elements of the plan include the development of a pilot website; a local outreach strategy; on-site tours and demonstrations; a conference and trade show strategy; and a media relations strategy, as well as coordination of communications efforts with the USDOT.

• Connected Vehicle Pilots Phase 2 Interoperability Test Report: Phase 2 of the Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program calls for a stakeholder outreach activity that includes an interoperability activity showing successful interaction between the local Connected Vehicle Pilot site and in-vehicle devices from one or more of the other Connected Vehicle Pilot sites. The USDOT and the three  pilot sites -- New York City; Tampa, FL; and Wyoming, in collaboration with the USDOT's Technical Support Contractor and the Saxton Transportation Operations Laboratory -- conducted Interoperability Testing at the Federal Highway Administration Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, VA, from June 25 to 28, 2018.  This document outlines a summary of the test cases, results, and recommendations for future interoperability testing.

• Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program, Driving Towards Deployment: Lessons Learned from the Design/Build/Test Phase: The Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program seeks to spur innovation among early adopters of connected vehicle application concepts. Based on the material the Connected Vehicle Pilot sites presented during a workshop session at Institute of Transportation Engineers Annual Meeting 2018, this report covers experiences and lessons learned from the pilot deployment sites during Phase 2 of the Connected Vehicle Pilot Program.

• V2I Hub Deployment Guide: Connected vehicle technologies help reduce the number of driving-related injuries and fatalities by allowing road users to be aware of potentially dangerous situations on the road. There are two main types of connected vehicle communications -- vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle-to-vehicle. V2I communication occurs between vehicles and deployed roadside communication devices, which capture vehicle-generated data while providing information pertaining to safety, mobility, and environmental conditions. This document provides a detailed approach for deploying the V2I Hub solution at a signalized intersection. It walks through each phase of the deployment step by step to ensure successful implementation.

• Connecting Pedestrians with Disabilities to Adaptive Signal Control for Safe Intersection Crossing and Enhanced Mobility: System Requirements: This project aims to develop a mobile app that enables pedestrians with disabilities to cross signalized intersections more safely and efficiently. The proposed technology concept is a smartphone app that interacts directly with a real-time, adaptive traffic signal control system at the intersection via dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) radio technology. Basic capabilities will enhance safety by allowing the user to: (1) communicate crossing intent and required crossing time and receive an extended crossing duration; (2) receive feedback if movement outside of the crosswalk is detected during crossing; and (3) dynamically extend the crossing duration if slower-than-expected crossing progress is observed. Advanced capabilities will include anticipation of the user's arrival at the intersection and minimizing wait time and using real-time bus information to better synchronize user arrival times at bus stops. This document details the overall requirements of the proposed app, as determined through interaction with potential users and other stakeholders.

• Connecting Pedestrians with Disabilities to Adaptive Signal Control for Safe Intersection Crossing and Enhanced Mobility: Concept of Operations: This document details the overall concept of operations of the proposed app, including a discussion of the current use state, rationalization for the changes, the range of user scenarios that it is intended to support, and its impact.

• Connecting Pedestrians with Disabilities to Adaptive Signal Control for Safe Intersection Crossing and Enhanced Mobility: System Design: This document presents the system design of a mobile app for use by pedestrians with disabilities to facilitate safe and efficient intersection crossing. The mobile app is designed to allow the pedestrian to communicate directly to the intersection and actively influence traffic control decisions. However, the mobile app is also capable of monitoring pedestrian progress and, by utilizing the SURTRAC real-time, adaptive traffic signal control system, of triggering dynamic extension of the green phase. Various aspects of the design are specified, including the physical architecture; the DSRC-based, pedestrian-to-infrastructure communication framework; the mobile application's user interface; and necessary extensions to the SURTRAC adaptive signal control system.

• EU-US-Japan International Accomplishments Report: The European Commission, the USDOT, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism of Japan have a long history of collaboration on intelligent transportation systems research and development initiatives. This report provides an overview of the formal collaboration structure and highlights key accomplishments, milestones, and meetings of each working group -- the Deployment Working Group, the Architecture and Standards Harmonization Working Group, the Human Factors Working Group, and the Automation in Road Transport Working Group.