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Autonomous Tech Scales Capitol Hill

Burney Simpson

The autonomous transportation industry brought its game to Capitol Hill this week, holding a nearly all-day event that featured speeches from a U.S. Senator, four Congressmen, and a number of driverless leaders, all over the course of a luncheon, a seminar, and a showcase event/cocktail party with several dozen of the top firms in the business.

Not bad for a day’s work.

Trade group ITS America put on ‘The Future of Mobility: Rethinking Transportation for the Next 30 Years’ and garnered the participation of Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, and Representatives Earl Blumenauer, an Oregon Democrat, Rodney Davis, an Illinois Republican, and Peter DeFazio, a Democrat from Oregon.

While much of the conversation was positive and friendly, a few of the seminar panelists took the opportunity to raise issues that Congress may have to address someday.

  • Data Privacy and Security — Daniel Morgan, chief data officer with the US Department of Transportation, noted that the security and privacy of citizen travel data was essential but that the information could be beneficial for metropolitan planners. Morgan floated the idea that a third party firm be responsible for collecting and storing the data if people objected to the federal government holding it.
  • Reserving DSRC wavelength for V2V and V2I — Alan Korn, an executive with heavy-truck parts supplier Meritor WABCO, said the Dedicated Short-Range Communications 5.9 GHz spectrum must be reserved for Vehicle-to-Vehicle and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure communications to ensure autonomous driving safety. Later, Sen. Peters said that new technology may allow for the sharing of the 5.9 spectrum with other Wi-Fi users.
  • Driverless Timeline — Supplying a welcome dose of reality was Tom Dingus, director of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). Dingus said developing a truly autonomous system would be considerably more difficult and probably take longer than some recent studies and press reports suggest. Driverless vehicles will have to be safer than the much-maligned human driver but consider that the average human has one rear-end crash every 25 years, and makes 3 million braking decision in that time, said Dingus. “It is very difficult to build a system that is that robust,” said Dingus.

The exhibition hall featured 22 organizations involved with autonomous transportation development, including Eberle Design, Econolite, GM, Iteris, the University of Michigan Mobility Transformation Center, NXP Semiconductors, Southwest Research Institute, and Uber.

VTTI was there too taking a bit of a victory lap after its successful demo this week on a nearby highway of its driverless Cadillac SRX. The ride along featured Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, and generated extensive media coverage (See “Virginia Seeks Autonomous Research Lead,” October 20, 2015).

The showcase garnered a little more exposure for the technology with another half-dozen members of Congress visiting the exhibit hall to check out the firms on display, according to an ITS spokesperson.

The day also offered an exhibit of a DeLorean car from an old movie that predicted people would fly on skateboardy-type things. This fascinated a number of Gen-Yers and Millennials who took selfies.

Photo: United States Capitol, 2015, Matt C.

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ITS California Buzzes on DOT Grants, Autonomous Levels Concept

John Estrada

The annual meeting of ITS California was held last week in Southern California.  The major buzz at the show was the previous week’s announcement by the US DOT that initial winners in grants for next-generation V2V and V2I technology were proposals from New York, Florida and Wyoming.  Many of the participants at the show felt very strongly that an award should have gone to California. It will be interesting to see what if any of those winning projects get off the ground.

There were quite a few interesting speakers at the show.  A couple of highlights included:

Greg Larson from CalTrans who led a panel that considered whether bus and truck automation should come before auto automation. Greg presented a chart from Richard Bishop of Bishop Consulting that showed the various levels of automation leading to autonomous cars as described by the SAE. Rather than a detailed description of what makes a vehicle fit into various levels, Richard describes it as follows:

  • Level 0: hands and feet ON;
  • Level 1: hands or feet OFF;
  • Level 2: hands and feet OFF, eyes ON;
  • Level 3: hands, feet, eyes OFF, brain on;
  • Level 4: hands, feet, eyes, brain OFF - Constrained environments;
  • Level 5: hands, feet, eyes, brain OFF – Unconstrained.
This seems like a great way to both remember and understand them.
Other interesting presentations included Aravind Kailas of Volvo who discussed truck automation and the future of mobility. He made a strong case as to why we are headed toward a world of shared mobility.
There was also an interesting panel on cybersecurity that gave the audience a true sense of the diversity and depth of the issue. Ed Fok from US DOT showed how easy it is easy to block off Internet access while Dominic Nessi of the LA Airport discussed cybersecurity challenges at a large, international airport. Gary Miskell from the Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority discussed the issues facing transit authorities and the challenges of securing a mobile fleet of public buses.

There were also a series of demonstrations of connected vehicle technologies from eTrans Systems, Econolite, Bosch and Arada Systems.

This was our second year at the show and in that short time it was clear how quickly technology is advancing in the work of Intelligent Transportation.

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Silicon Valley ITS Event Preps Bay Area for Connected Vehicle Pilots

This Thursday, Silicon Valley will have an opportunity to learn from local transportation leaders about upcoming connected-vehicle pilot programs in the Bay area and the use of dedicated short range communications (DSRC).

The Intelligent Transportation Society of California (ITS-CA) is holding on September 3 for its Northern California chapter a luncheon called Start-Up V2X at the Prospect Silicon Valley Technology Demonstration Center in San Jose. Four influential executives from Bay area transportation agencies will speak, including:

Angus Davol of San Francisco International Airport;

Greg Larson of the California Department of Transportation;

Gary Miskell of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority;

Ananth Prasad of Santa Clara County.

“As a part of the ITS Northern California events committee and co-moderator, I am pleased to have an experienced group of transit professionals speak at this event,” said Vinay Thadani, vice president, Arada Systems.

Following the luncheon, ProspectSV will hold a workshop designed for municipalities in the area to better understand and prepare for connected vehicles. The workshop will also feature technical experts explaining how they are rolling out connected vehicle roadside units in the Bay area. Email Pamela.Crouch@prospectsv.org to register.

The Start-Up V2X event can help ITS-CA members and local officials get up to speed as the U.S. Department of Transportation plans to announce in the fourth quarter the winners of its $100 million Connected Vehicle Pilot program.

The luncheon runs from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and the workshop runs from 1:30 to 3:00. Visit here to learn more and register for the luncheon.

The 23,000-square-foot ProspectSV building on Las Plumas Avenue includes advanced transportation lab facilities such as ITS Lab, a life-scale testbed for connected vehicle technology.

 

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Can Driverless Cars Lower Depression Among Seniors?

Burney Simpson

A new study from the AAA Foundation finds that driving cessation by older adults contributes to their decline in physical and social health, and can double the risk for depression.

Ensuring that seniors remain mobile and socially active can lessen these health risks, according to “Driving Cessation and Health Outcomes of Older Adults: A LongROAD Study.”

One way to do that would be to develop vehicles that give seniors the ability get around town without actually driving or relying on others. Many proponents of driverless cars and self-driving automation contend that the technology can mean mobility for seniors who have stopped driving.

Google has said that its goal in developing a driverless car is to “transform mobility by making it easier, safer and more enjoyable to get around. … For example, there are many people who are unable to drive at all who could greatly benefit from fully self-driving cars.”

The AAA LongROAD study is a systematic review of 16 studies that presented quantitative data for drivers 55 and older. It doesn’t provide specific solutions to the impact of driving cessation but it concludes that “(e)ffective intervention programs to ensure and prolong mobility, (and) physical and social functioning for older adults are needed.”

Issues of driving and the elderly are especially important as the population ages. By 2040 about 20 percent of the U.S. will be 65 and older, compared with 13 percent in 2010.

Driving cessation can be harmful because car ownership and driving is “correlated with independence and life satisfaction in older adults,” according to the AAA study, and that the “capacity to drive is an important mechanism through which many adults, both young and old, fulfill their social roles and engage with their environments.”

Photo: Ania driver sunset, by Trevor Butcher, 2011.

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Qualcomm and Honda, Oregon, Utah DOTs Honored for Best of 2015 ITS Projects

Burney Simpson

Qualcomm and Honda, along with the Oregon and Utah departments of transportation, were named recipients of the Best of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Awards, ITS America announced this week at its 25th Annual Meeting & Exposition in Pittsburgh.

Qualcomm and Honda teamed to develop, test and successfully demonstrate dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) technology that allowed vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication. The smartphone app determines whether a pedestrian is in danger of being hit by the vehicle, and sends warnings to both the driver and the pedestrian.

The awards honor organizations in the high-tech transportation industry for projects that demonstrated “specific and measurable outcomes and exemplified innovation by establishing a “new dimension” of performance,” according to ITS America.

The Oregon Department of Transportation’s “OR 217 Active Traffic Management,” project was honored for Best New Innovative Products, Services, or Applications. This pdf describes the OR 217 ATM.

ITS also presents awards in four categories under the Best New Innovative Practices banner — sustainability in transportation; partnership deployment (business-to-business, government-to-government, or public/private); research, design and innovation; and rural ITS.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and Honda R&D Americas, Inc. won the Research, Design and Innovation award for “Honda and Qualcomm DSRC-based-Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) and Other Vulnerable Road User Safety Project.

The Sustainability and Transportation award honored the Utah Department of Transportation’s “Winter Road Weather Index” project. See pdf of UDOT 2014 Annual Efficiencies Report for WRWI.

Cubic Transportation Systems and the Chicago Transit Authority took the Partnership Deployment award for its “Chicago Transit Authority Ventra Update: Open and Loving It” bankcard payment system.

The Rural ITS Project award will be presented at the National Rural ITS (NRITS) Conference in Snowbird, Utah, August 9-12.

“These awards recognize the leading transportation innovators who’ve effectively demonstrated a dedication to advancing ITS through innovative projects,” Regina Hopper, president and CEO of ITS America, said in a press release.

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Google’s Urmson Impresses at ITS America 2015

John Estrada

Yesterday was the first full day of the ITS America 25th Annual Meeting & Expo.

The show’s opening keynote speaker was Chris Urmson, Google’s director of self-driving cars. We’ve heard Google speak about their autonomous car program quite a few times over the past 18 months. What is most exciting is that each time it is clear that they have moved forward and are continuing to make significant progress.

This time the biggest differences were around the “view” that the driverless car has of its surroundings and how the vehicle reacts to what it “sees”. Urmson had an interesting clip of a woman in a wheelchair chasing a duck on the road and the vehicle having to figure out what to do with that. It seemed to handle it just fine.

Chris stated that the goal of the Google team is to have vehicles on the road in less than 4 years … just in time so his oldest son won’t need to get a driver’s license. That doesn’t seem unrealistic considering the pace that Google has been moving on this.

The show opened Monday with the introduction of Regina Hopper as the new president and CEO of ITS America. Ms. Hopper is quite impressive, seems to have great experience, and looks to be an excellent choice for this challenging role. This was especially true considering she has only been on the job for about two weeks.

ITS America moved the show to Pittsburgh this year from Detroit, and it’s interesting to compare the two cities. Both are excellent choices for a show dedicated to innovative transportation technologies. And both are large Rust Belt cities that have gone through some tough periods.

In Detroit, the revitalization is just beginning and it is clear that there is a long way to go but there is an optimism and can-do spirit that leads you to believe that, someday, it will be successful.

Pittsburgh has that same optimism and spirit but it is much further along in its revitalization. The view of the city as you come out of the tunnel from the airport is just stunning and it is clear that the city has come a long way.

Overall the show is well attended and it offers a good mix of ITS topics and presentations. There was a lot more focus at this show on DSRC and connected vehicles than we’ve seen at previous shows. This is a technology that is also advancing very rapidly.

Looking forward to seeing how much progress there will be by the next show.

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ITS America’s 25th Annual Meet Convenes Next Week

Burney Simpson

One of the biggest autonomous technology shows of the year begins next Monday when the 25th Annual Meeting & Expo of Intelligent Transportation Systems opens on June 1 in Pittsburgh at the David Lawrence Convention Center.

The Bridges to Innovation show runs from June 1-3 and will draw about 2,000 technology and transportation executives, researchers, engineers, and investors to do business, catch up, and take in the 250 presentations across 60 workshops and sessions.

Topics covered include connected and automated vehicles, security, funding, shared mobility and transit, commercial vehicle and freight logistics, mobile applications, safety, and transportation systems operations. A pdf of the program can be downloaded here.

And folks going to the show just might see one of the autonomous cars that Uber is testing around Pittsburgh.

Many attendees will be from the ITS’ 27 state chapters across 40 states and their 1,200 member organizations, and the more than 450 public agencies, companies, and research institutions that are members of the organization. ITS Pennsylvania is the cohost of the meeting & expo.

On June 1, the opening keynote will be given by Chris Urmson, director of Google’s self-driving cars program, and a one-time faculty member of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh.

ITS AWARD WINNERS

The winners of the Best of ITS Awards will be named during the opening plenary session on June 1 from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Winners will be named in Best New Innovative Product, Service or Innovation; Best New Innovative Practice – Partnership Deployment; Best New Innovative Practice – Research, Design and Innovation; Best New Innovative Practice – Sustainability in Transportation.

Attendees also have the opportunity to visit some of the driverless-related centers in the Pittsburgh area, including a connected vehicle test bed and the PennDOT regional transportation management center, and to take a bicycle tour of Pittsburgh.

A visit to the CMU Autonomous Vehicle Demonstration is sold out.

CMU’s influence runs throughout the meeting and expo. The closing keynote will be delivered by David Plouffe, a one-time aide to President Barack Obama who is now a senior vice president of strategy with Uber Technologies. Uber in February announced a partnership with CMU and the creation of the Uber Advanced Technologies Center near the school’s campus.

125 EXHIBITORS

The exhibition hall opens at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, June 1, at the Convention Center. There are more than 125 exhibitors including – Activu, Bosch Security Systems, Eberle Design, Florida’s Automated Vehicles Initiative, Harbrick, Iteris, Siemens, Southwest Research Institute, Thales, Transportation Research Board, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, and Xerox.

Many attendees will be arriving early on Sunday, May 31, to participate in meetings of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). In addition, state departments of transportation from around the country will hold a roundtable from 4 - 6 p.m. to discuss funding issues, deployment strategies, and the efficient use of technology.

Photo of Pittsburgh by Allie Caulfield, 2008.

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New Xerox Video Imagines Power of Connected Vehicles

Driverless Transportation

ITS America and Xerox released this week a video extolling connected cars, timed in preparation of the ITS America 25th Annual Meeting & Expo in Pittsburgh May 31-June 3, 2015 in the David H. Lawrence Convention Center.

The video promotes the conveniences and entertainment capabilities of connected vehicles. It plays on the theme of ‘imagine’, asking viewers to consider such concepts as a car that can find a parking spot while the driver is on the way to restaurant, or buy a train ticket as the driver seeks an alternative to sitting in traffic.

See the Video from Xerox on YouTube.

The video is made by Xerox and is on its YouTube website but was part of a press release from ITS America. Xerox is an exhibitor at the Expo, and a Xerox executive is on the ITS America board.

The Xerox Transportation division is a provider of electronic payments systems for tolls, parking lots, and public transportation. Xerox is also a corporate partner on the University of Michigan’s Mobility Transformation Center and is part of the effort to launch M City, the 32-acre vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure test environment.

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ITS America Names Best of 2015 Finalists

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) today announced the list of finalists for its 2015 Best of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Awards. The winners will be announced June 1 at the opening session of the 25th ITS America Annual Meeting & Exposition at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

The finalists are:

Best New Innovative Product, Service or Application

  • Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority: “Capital Metro BRT, Real-Time Data & Mobile Ticketing App”
  • Oregon Department of Transportation: “OR 217 Active Traffic Management”
  • Xerox: “Xerox Vehicle Passenger Detection System”
  • Drivewyze: “Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) Communication”

Best New Innovative Practice - Partnership Deployment

  • Florida Department of Transportation & Waze: “SunGuide Software and Waze Traffic Feed Integration”
  • Cubic Transportation Systems & Chicago Transit Authority: “Chicago Transit Authority Ventra Update: Open and Loving It”
  • Oregon Department of Transportation & Oregon State Police: “Oregon Interoperability Service”

Best New Innovative Practice – Research, Design and Innovation

  • Southwest Research Institute: “Connected Automation to Enhance Work Zone Safety”
  • Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and Honda R&D Americas, Inc.: “Honda and Qualcomm DSRC-based Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) and Other Vulnerable Road User Safety Project”
  • Utah Department of Transportation: “UDOT Flex Lanes Project”

Best New Innovative Practice - Sustainability in Transportation

  • MetroTech: “Santa Clara County Deployment”
  • Utah Department of Transportation: “Winter Road Weather Index”

New this year, ITS America will honor a Best New Innovative Startup Company.