U.S. Department of Transportation Announces Winners of the Intersection Safety Challenge Stage 1B: System Assessment and Virtual Testing Primary Track

WASHINGTON – On January 7, 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) announced the winners of the U.S. DOT Intersection Safety Challenge Stage 1B: System Assessment and Virtual Testing Primary Track at the 2025 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. For the Stage 1B Primary Track, U.S. DOT awarded $4 million among 10 prize-winning teams. Prizes awarded range from $750,000 (each) for four Tier 1 winners to $166,000 (each) for six Tier 2 winners. To learn more about the winning teams, prizes awarded, and a summary of the technical approach used by prize winning teams, please see: https://its.dot.gov/isc/.

The purpose of the Intersection Safety Challenge, a multi-stage prize competition, is to encourage teams of innovators and end-users to develop, prototype and test intersection safety systems (ISS) that leverage emerging technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to identify and mitigate unsafe conditions involving vehicles and vulnerable road users at roadway intersections. The Challenge draws on the expertise of researchers and practitioners from across the United States, including universities, State and local agencies, private sector developers, and other organizations.

In the first prize competition stage of the Challenge, completed in January 2024 (Stage 1A: Concept Assessment), U.S. DOT awarded 15 winning Stage 1A teams prizes of $100,000 each and an invitation to participate in Stage 1B Primary Track. In Stage 1B, teams tackled a series of technical challenges—including sensor fusion, classification, path and conflict prediction—utilizing U.S. DOT-provided real world sensor data collected on a closed course at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC).

Improving the safety of pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vulnerable road users is of critical importance to achieving the U.S. DOT’s vision of zero roadway deaths and serious injuries. The Intersection Safety Challenge supports these Departmental priorities, aligns with the U.S. DOT’s National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS), and aims to set the stage for the future deployment of roadway intersection safety systems nationwide.

Given the overwhelming interest in Stage 1B, U.S. DOT is exploring ways to engage all interested parties in future stages of the Intersection Safety Challenge. For updates on opportunities to participate in the Intersection Safety Challenge in the coming year, please visit https://its.dot.gov/isc/.

Posted 1/13/25