Linking Drivers and Roads

With the advent of modern, instrumented vehicles and roadside electronics, the use of innovative techniques to assist motorists in making intelligent decisions based on real-time road conditions is now possible. Applications that use data from connected vehicles and roadside infrastructure offer the promise, not only of major improvements in highway safety and mobility, but also the reduction of the environmental impacts of highway travel. The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) is working to establish the necessary platforms to support the development and growth of applications and data. The intent is to start with the development of a small suite of applications that ideally will spawn a broader range of ideas in the marketplace and facilitate a more robust and dynamic connected vehicle environment. For more than a decade, USDOT has worked toward a nationwide wireless system of connected vehicles and smart infrastructure. This article discusses the technology and potential benefits that could be obtained from the integration of infrastructure and vehicle data. Three safety applications that are being developed as part of the United States Department of Transportation’s vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) program are described in detail: red light violation warnings, curve speed warnings and STOP sign gap assistance. Some V2I mobility applications are also briefly summarized. In August 2012, USDOT launched a test of connected vehicle technology in a multimodal operating environment. Using approximately 3,000 cars, trucks, and buses (and some infrastructure) equipped with wireless communications devices, this model deployment is creating a highly concentrated environment of vehicles talking to each other and to infrastructure as a means to evaluate how the system works in the real world and to quantify the probable benefits of a connected vehicle environment. Ultimately, the data from USDOT's model deployment and State-run test sites will help the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration make a decision on the future of connected vehicle technology. This decision could lead to a revolutionary transformation of the Nation's transportation system.