UMTRI wins $14.9M USDOT connected vehicle contract
19 August 2011
The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) has been awarded a $14.9-million contract from the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) to conduct a safety pilot model deployment of Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) safety applications in Ann Arbor, MI.
The 30-month program will establish a real-world, multimodal test site in Ann Arbor for enabling wireless communications among vehicles and roadside equipment for use in generating data to enable safety applications. Passenger cars, commercial trucks, and transit buses will be included that are equipped with a mix of integrated, retrofit, and aftermarket V2V and V2I-based safety systems, a technology that could prevent thousands of crashes. (Earlier post.)
The data generated and archived as part of the model deployment will be used for estimating safety benefits in support of future policy decisions by the USDOT, as well as for use by the broader transportation industry in developing additional safety, mobility, and environmental applications utilizing wireless technologies. The testing phase will last 12 months, and include approximately 2,850 vehicles.
The DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is slated to make an an agency decision in 2013 to determine whether the agency proceeds with regulatory activities that could require connected vehicle technology on new vehicles, consumer information programs that help new car buyers understand the effectiveness of this technology, or the need for further research and development.
Partners in supporting UMTRI on the program include the Michigan Department of Transportation, the City of Ann Arbor, Parsons Brinkerhoff, Mixon Hill, HNTB, SAIC, Texas Transportation Institute, AAA of Michigan, and ESCRYPT. Additional support is being provided by the Office of the Vice President of Research at the University of Michigan and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
Industry is doing that already.
Extended studies on moving vehicles wireless charging systems could benefit future EV owners more.
Posted by: HarveyD | 19 August 2011 at 06:59 AM