Volvo Technology to Lead New York Commercial Vehicle Infrastructure Integration Development Program

11 June 2009

The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has selected Volvo Technology North America to lead the development and demonstration of an advanced Commercial Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (CVII) program. A contract awarding this program to Volvo Technology is being finalized by the state.

The program will demonstrate VII applications for commercial vehicles along key transportation corridors in the greater New York City region. Test corridors, utilizing 5.9 GHz dedicated short range communications (DSRC), include 13 miles of the New York State Thruway Authority’s I-87 Spring Valley Corridor and 42 miles of NYSDOT’s I-495 Long Island Expressway.

VII is an advanced ITS (Intelligent Transportation System) technology using infrastructure similar to that of 915 MHz based systems such as E-Z PASS but with the capability of very high-speed, high-capacity data communication using an on-board communication device that is integrated with the electronic information and control systems of the vehicle.

Visual and audible information is available to the driver from the VII network, and the vehicle can communicate information to the VII roadside infrastructure as well as other vehicles, creating smart vehicles operating along a smart highway and transportation system, NYSDOT notes.

VII development has focused almost exclusively on passenger vehicles. While a number of major light vehicle manufacturers have been directly involved with the VII technology development under the leadership of the USDOT, the commercial vehicle industry has not been sufficiently represented, NYSDOT said. The Volvo-led effort for the state of New York, funded by the I-95 Corridor Coalition in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, is the first VII program exclusively devoted to developing and demonstrating the technology for commercial vehicles.

The Volvo-led program will test enhanced vehicle security, demonstrating driver identification and verification using TWIC (Transportation Worker Identification Credential, an identity card issued by the Transportation Security Administration) and biometric readers to restrict vehicle operation to authorized drivers only. The program will also test the ability to gather real-time information about important vehicle safety components, such as brake condition.

The goal of national Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII), which uses high speed, high capacity wireless technology, is to enhance highway user safety by allowing smart vehicles and highway infrastructure to communicate information to the driver. VII technology can provide a wide range of communications to the driver including safety warning of potential hazards and general traveler information.

For commercial vehicles, such high-speed, wireless communications can also be used to improve vehicle productivity and contribute to improved fuel efficiency and reduced CO₂ emissions.

The CVII team is led by Volvo Technology North America and includes Booz Allen Hamilton, Kapsch TrafficCom, Cambridge Systematics, Southwest Research Institute, and Fitzgerald & Halliday. A program advisory team will include representatives from federal, regional, and state transportation agencies as well as industry representatives including the New York State Motor Truck Association.

A follow-on phase of the work is proposed to test and demonstrate integration between the commercial vehicle, passenger vehicle, and infrastructure.

Volvo Technology and other Volvo Group companies have extensive experience with numerous ITS technologies. Many of these programs have a strong focus on optimizing the human-machine interface, to provide critical information to drivers in the most effective way. Specifically for VII-based technologies, Volvo is involved in a number of other programs in Europe and North America.

In Europe, this includes Cooperative Vehicle-Infrastructure Systems, SAFESPOT, HAVEit, PRE-DRIVE C2X, and the CAR 2 CAR Communications Consortium. In the US, this also includes the Trusted Truck.

Resources

• The Convergence of Real Time Data, Information and Operations - VII (NYSDOT presentation)