Wyoming Connected Vehicle Pilot Develops Open-Source Applications for Roadside Unit Operations and Maintenance and Stakeholder Viewing

The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) Connected Vehicle Pilot implementation includes the deployment of 75 roadside units (RSUs) along 400 miles of I-80. With long drive times and tough winters in Wyoming, WYDOT needed an efficient way to monitor the performance of and manage and update these units to maintain peak performance. With no suitable product readily available, the WYDOT Connected Vehicle team developed an open-source application that allows authorized transportation management center (TMC) operators to monitor and manage each RSU on the road. The WYDOT team found that the application can also be leveraged as a public-facing tool that shows a high-level status of the pilot.

The TMC portion of the application is called the Service Monitor Device Management. The application is for use by WYDOT TMC operators only and provides a quick, real-time, single view into RSU status and management. The operators have access to the RSU Internet Protocol addresses and can remotely manage each RSU by performing functions such as:

• Rebooting
• Checking and updating firmware
• Viewing active traveler information messages (TIMs)
• Viewing the number of connected vehicles that have driven past in the last 24 hours.

A new National Transportation Communications for Intelligent Transportation Systems Protocol (NTCIP) standard, NTCIP 1218 v01, Object Definitions for RSUs, is currently under development. This standard will define the protocols and Simple Network Management Protocol objects for configuring, operating, and maintaining RSUs from a TMC. 

The Connected Vehicle Monitor application is essentially the same data pushed to Connected Vehicle Pilot stakeholders, yet in view-only mode. This component allows users to zoom in and out on a specific segment of I-80. In particular, the tool is valuable to demonstrate how TIMs are being pushed out to the RSUs and how many vehicles are receiving the messages. For example, a stakeholder browsing the Connected Vehicle Monitor can quickly identify what TIMs are being pushed out currently and how many vehicles pass the RSU.

The Connected Vehicle Monitor also includes integration with other WYDOT applications for traveler information. The application presents a rolling log of information for the past 24 hours. Information used for the Connected Vehicle Monitor is also being used to create an analytic dashboard that will report on several of the performance measures identified by the Connected Vehicle Pilot. The upcoming dashboard will leverage aspects of the Connected Vehicle Monitor, but present other data to determine overall performance impacts of the pilot.

Leveraging the WYDOT Applications for Your Deployment...

For other state or local agencies and departments of transportation (DOTs) wishing to deploy a similar capability to monitor and manage RSUs, the application code was made available on the Open Source Application Development Portal (OSADP) for download. The code is downloadable and can be used and customized by others free of charge. WYDOT developed this capability using U.S. DOT funds under the Connected Vehicle Pilot program as open-source software and associated documentation. Search for "Service Monitor Device Management" on the OSADP. The application represents one of six that the Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment program will be providing during its three phases.