The Complete Trip – ITS4US Deployment Program received 24 eligible proposals by organizations from 15 states. The winning teams and projects are:

• California Association of Coordinated Transportation (CALACT)
  • Location: California, Oregon, and Washington
  • Project: Plan, Book, and Pay for Demand-responsive Transit Agencies in CA, OR, or WA
  • Award: $5,311,000
• Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC)
  • Location: Gwinnet County, Georgia
  • Project: Safe Trips in Connected Transportation Network
  • Award: $9,388,404
• Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency (HITRA)
  • Location: Dallas County, Iowa
  • Project: Health Connector for the Most Vulnerable: An Inclusive Mobility Experience from Beginning to End
  • Award: $3,956,806
• University of Washington
  • Location: Baltimore, Maryland, Portland, Oregon, Bellevue, Washington
  • Project: Accessible Mapping Standards and Data Collaboration Drive Accessible Multimodal Active Transportation and Mobility
  • Award: $11,459,000
• ICF International, Inc.
  • Location: Buffalo, New York
  • Project: Complete Trip Deployment in Buffalo, NY
  • Award: $8,235,661

The Inclusive Design Challenge received 47 eligible applications from industry, academic institutions, and individuals representing 21 states. The winning teams and projects are:

• Waymo
  • Location: Mountain View, California
  • Project: AV Wayfinding
  • Award: $300,000
• AbleLink Smart Living Technologies
  • Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
  • Project: WayFinder ADS
  • Award: $300,000
• Foresight Augmented Reality LLC
  • Location: Atlanta, Georgia
  • Project: Accessibility for Sensory Disabilities and Aging Populations Traveling on Automated Vehicles
  • Award: $300,000
• Purdue University
  • Location: West Lafayette, Indiana
  • Project: Efficient, Accessible and Safe Interaction in a Real Integrated Design Environment for Riders with disabilities (EASI RIDER)
  • Award: $300,000
• University of Kansas
  • Location: Lawrence, Kansas
  • Project: Optimizing Highly Automated Driving Systems for People with Cognitive Disabilities
  • Award: $300,000
• University of Maine 
  • Location: Orono, Maine
  • Project: Autonomous Vehicle Assistant (Ava): Ride-hailing and localization for the future of accessible mobility
  • Award: $300,000
• Boston University
  • Location: Boston, Massachusetts
  • Project: OpenGuide: A Scalable Human-Like Guidance System for Visually Impaired Travelers
  • Award: $300,000
• May Mobility
  • Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
  • Project: Independent Safety for Wheelchair Users in AVs
  • Award: $300,000
• Carnegie Mellon University – Human-Computer Interaction Institute
  • Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Project: Promoting personal control of AVs through inclusive smartphone communication interfaces
  • Award: $300,000
• Clemson University
  • Location: Clemson, South Carolina
  • Project: Accessible Technology Leverage for Autonomous vehicles System: ATLAS II
  • Award: $300,000

Through this Notice of Funding Opportunity, DOT intends to fund one UTC in each of the following specific topic areas:

1. Highly Automated Transportation Systems Research;
2. Communications Technology and E-Commerce Effects on Travel Demand;
3. Implications of Accessible Automated Vehicles and Mobility Services for People with Disabilities; or
4. Strategic Implications of Changing Public Transportation Travel Trends.

Only U.S. non-profit institutions of higher education are eligible to apply or to be members of a proposed UTC consortium.  Non-profit institutions of higher education may include qualifying two-year institutions.

The bill HB 311 defines the complete operating description for AVs.

The one-year project supports Lee County’s initiative to keep pace with advancements in connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) technologies to ensure an efficient transition to future traffic management, including understanding cybersecurity risks, forecasting technology trends and identifying grant opportunities.

Under the terms of the contract, Iteris, with support from Gannet Fleming, will provide a CAV technology strategic plan to assist Lee County staff in understanding how tech companies, automotive manufacturers, infrastructure providers and others are advancing their products, and how Lee County can accommodate future technology to manage congestion, improve safety and enhance CAV readiness.

The task force will continue to enable companies to pursue innovative ideas around CAV technology in a business-friendly way that has been the calling card for Texas in this space and others over time. It will also build on legislation passed by the 85^th legislature related to how connected and autonomous vehicles can operate in the Lone Star State.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, on average there are 210 fatalities and 15,000 injuries a year caused by backover crashes. Of those crashes, NHTSA estimates that 40 percent occurred in residential areas, with 24 percent happening in driveways.

“The majority of backover incidents are caused by the driver not being able to see their immediate surroundings,” says Rondell Burge, researcher of driver behavior, Chevrolet. “When you hear about backover or frontover incidents involving parents or grandparents and their little ones, your heart sinks. It’s personal and at Chevy we want to help drivers see as much of their environment as possible to help them avoid the unthinkable. That’s where Surround Vision can help.”

Surround Vision technology, available on the 2018 Equinox, provides a 360-degree bird’s-eye view around the vehicle by acting like multiple sets of eyes that help drivers quickly view their vehicle’s perimeter during low-speed maneuvers such as backing up or parking.

The technology uses four cameras: the standard Rear Vision Camera, a forward-looking camera in the front grille and two side-looking cameras under each side mirror. When drivers shift into reverse, the bird’s-eye view is displayed on the center stack instrument panel, alongside an image from the forward- or rear-looking camera, providing the driver with multiple views of the immediate area.

Chevrolet offers Surround Vision on the 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV, Equinox, and Traverse. Rear Vision Camera is available on the 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV, Camaro, City Express, Colorado, Corvette, Cruze, Equinox, Express, Impala, Malibu, Silverado, Silverado HD, Sonic, Spark, Suburban, Tahoe, Traverse, Trax and Volt.

Source: GM

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has designated 10 proving ground pilot sites to encourage testing and information sharing around automated vehicle technologies.  These proving ground designations will foster  innovations that can safely transform personal and commercial mobility, expand capacity, and open new doors to disadvantaged people and communities.  These designations are a logical next step in the Department’s effort to advance the safe deployment of automated technology.

“The designated proving grounds will collectively form a Community of Practice around safe testing and deployment,” said Secretary Foxx.  “This group will openly share best practices for the safe conduct of testing and operations as they are developed, enabling the participants and the general public to learn at a faster rate and accelerating the pace of safe deployment.”

The proving grounds will also provide critical insights into optimal big data usage through automated vehicle testing and will serve as a foundation for building a community of practice around automated vehicle research.

Designees were selected from a competitive group of over 60 applicants.  Applicants included academic institutions, state Departments of Transportation, cities, and private entities and partnerships.  Proving grounds designees all have different facilities that can be used to gauge safety, manage various roadways and conditions, and handle various types of vehicles.

The Proving Ground designees are:

1. City of Pittsburgh and the Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute
2. Texas AV Proving Grounds Partnership
3. U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center
4. American Center for Mobility (ACM) at Willow Run
5. Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) & GoMentum Station
6. San Diego Association of Governments
7. Iowa City Area Development Group
8. University of Wisconsin-Madison
9. Central Florida Automated Vehicle Partners
10. North Carolina Turnpike Authority

DOT initiated a Federal Register Notice soliciting proposals for a pilot program to designate automated vehicle proving grounds in November 2016.  The solicitation included broad criteria for selections including a demonstration of capable safety planning, willingness and ability to share and disseminate information, and an ability to show that all applicable laws, regulations, and policies are adhered to at all times.  The solicitation also requested information on the types of facilities and research capability that are available to applicants to test automated vehicle technologies.

More details about the designations may be found at www.transportation.gov/AV.

Source: US DOT

Because partnerships and collaboration will be key to success in ongoing development of connected and automated vehicles, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will join other states, academic institutions and others to form a Smart Belt Coalition (SBC).

“This initiative highlights the collaboration we know will be necessary as mobility evolves at an exponential pace,” said State Transportation Director Kirk T. Steudle. “Working closely with our colleagues in neighboring states will pay dividends for all of us while we continue to leverage our existing partnerships with universities and the American Center for Mobility.”

The SBC was formed to:

• Establish a high-profile, high-impact, and long-distance network of transportation innovations in connected automation.
• Support testing and deployment of various applications of connected and automated vehicles.
• Operate connected and automated applications on varying terrain during all weather conditions.
• Validate innovations across a diversity of urban and rural roadways.
• Share data for research and future deployment of technologies.
• Provide a forum for key transportation decision-makers.
• Seek joint funding opportunities for large-scale transportation research and implementation projects.

The SBC membership comprises the following transportation agencies and universities:

Michigan: MDOT, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and the American Center for Mobility.

Ohio: The Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission, Ohio State University, and the Transportation Research Center.

Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, and Carnegie Mellon University.

The SBC has met several times in 2016 and will officially formalize their partnership through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in the coming months. Currently, the coalition is preparing a strategic plan, which focuses on connected and automated applications in work zones, traffic incident management and commercial freight.

Source: Michigan DOT

Speaking at a self-driving convention in San Francisco, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told delegates that government regulators and the automotive industry must work together to test autonomous driving technology before the vehicles hit the road, reports Associated Press.

He said a more rigorous review of robotic controls is needed to reassure consumers that autonomous vehicles are safe before people entrust their vehicle’s steering and brakes to a robot.

“This could help assure consumers that the vehicles that they are getting into are stress tested,” Foxx said.

He also advised automakers to assume people will be tempted to take foolhardy risks when they activate the autonomous features in a car, making it imperative to design vehicles that minimise the chances of irresponsible behavior.

His remarks come a few weeks after the driver of a Tesla crashed into a truck in Florida while using the vehicle’s AutoPilot feature. The crash is still under investigation.

Foxx plans to propose guidelines for autonomous vehicles later this summer.

Source: ITS International