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Intelligent Transportation Systems
Joint Program Office

ITS Architecture and Standards

This Program provides a reference system architecture along with voluntary technical standards, tools, and deployment support. These efforts guide safe, secure, efficient, and interoperable deployment of infrastructure, connected, and automated ITS technologies as outlined in USC Sect. 517 .

ITS Architecture as defined in the Architecture Reference for Cooperative and Intelligent Transportation (ARC-IT) provides a common framework for planning, defining, and integrating ITS, as well as guiding investment in standards to facilitate interoperable deployment. Evolution and maintenance of ARC-IT is critical to addressing the concerns of all stakeholders in the ITS community, staying abreast of technological developments and policy constraints, while ensuring that investment in standards development and deployment is able to economically leverage new technologies while maintaining and enhancing interoperability.

Standards define an architecture of interrelated systems that work together to deliver transportation services. Most standards are voluntary, consensus-based, and open. ITS standards cover different "communications layers" in their description of how data is communicated between the relevant transportation systems. These layers start with the description of how bits of data are combined and transmitted and extend to the meaning of the entire message sent over the communications path. ITS standards specify consistency and compatibility of the interconnects and interfaces, both hardware and software, within an advanced transportation system.

The ITS Architecture and Standards Program conducts activities to support the development and maintenance of standards and protocols using the services of standards development organizations (SDOs), updates ARC-IT to reflect changes in standards development and technology evolution and provides mechanisms for ITS professionals to learn about ITS architecture, standards, and how architecture, standards and cybersecurity are relevant to deployment.