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The Intelligent Transportation Society of America Announces New Connected Vehicle Task Force Leadership
Washington, D.C. - The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) is pleased to announce two new appointees to its Connected Vehicle Task Force, a distinguished group of industry leaders who have the responsibility of advising the Society and the public on issues related to deployment of Vehicle and Highway Infrastructure applications that rely on short and long range wireless communications technologies.
The ITS America Policy and Business Council and Technical Coordinating Council approved the appointment of Roger Berg, Vice President of Wireless Technologies at DENSO Automotive North American, to be chair of the Connected Vehicle Task Force for the next year. Dr. Christopher Poe, Assistant Director at the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), was named Vice Chair, where he will support the task force and represent the needs of infrastructure operators.
The Connected Vehicle Task Force focuses on technical and institutional issues related to the deployment of short range Vehicle-to-Vehicle, Vehicle-to-Infrastructure and Vehicle-to-Device (V2X) applications. V2X technology or “WiFi on wheels” is the next major step in improving highway safety and transportation mobility and convenience.
By allowing cars to talk to neighboring vehicles, or traffic lights at up to highway speeds, V2X will introduce a plethora of new applications and services that will speed divers’ journeys and alert them of potential dangers. The Task Force will examine what potential applications may emerge, and how the industry, and potentially the government, may facilitate deployment. It is anticipated that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will likely conduct a rulemaking on V2X utilizing Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) in 2013.
To learn more about the Connected Vehicle Task Force, visit the http://www.itsa.org/forumstaskforcesworkinggroups/connectedvehicle
Meet our New Chair and Vice Chair
Roger Berg is Vice President of Wireless Technologies at DENSO’s North American Research Laboratories, overseeing vehicle communication technology. He is responsible for DENSO’s research and development of vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) technology for the United States Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Connected Vehicle program.
Berg joined DENSO in 2000 as Vice President of Wireless Communications where he was responsible for the design and development of cellular handset and telematics technology. In 2003, his group began to shift toward wireless technology research and development with an extensive focus on V2X technology working with Ford, GM’s Nissan, BMW, VW, Honda and Toyota’s Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership (CAMP) and with V2X groups in Japan and Germany.
Berg is the inventor or co-inventor of eight U.S. and international patents. Before joining DENSO, he worked for consumer electronics companies such as Sony and Motorola and managed the design and development of cellular handsets for markets in the United States, European Union and Asia.
Berg earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois in Urbana, Ill., and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, Ill. Berg is currently an active member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and is on the Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) Technical Committee, DSRC Vehicle Safety Committee, Digital Map and Vehicle Interface Methodology Sub-committees and the ITS America IntelliDrive (SM) Task Force.
Dr. Christopher Poe is the Assistant Director at the Texas Transportation Institute and serves as the Program Manager for TTI’s Tolling Research Program. In his current position, he is leading the intelligent transportation system division, transportation operations, and toll road research and implementation projects for a number of sponsors nationally and in the state of Texas. Dr. Poe also serves as the Head of the Research and Implementation Division at TTI where he oversees 60 transportation researchers and a variety of projects in the TTI Dallas/Fort Worth, El Paso, Houston, and San Antonio offices. Dr. Poe has an extensive background in transportation management, traffic operations, intelligent transportation systems, and high-occupancy vehicle lanes. Prior to his current position, Dr. Poe spent six years in the private sector leading ITS projects in the Central U.S. Region.
Dr. Poe has been involved with connected vehicle research through a US DOT AERIS research project, a Michigan DOT project for Data Use, Analysis, and Processing, part of the US DOT Safety Pilot project, and part of the selected team for the Michigan Connected Vehicle Test Bed. He also served as the secretary for the Transportation Research Board Task Force on Vehicle-Highway Automation.
Dr. Poe received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University and his Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. He has also taught university courses on transportation engineering at Pennsylvania State University and the University of Texas at Arlington. Dr. Poe is a licensed engineer in the State of Texas.
The Intelligent Transportation Society of America represents more than 400 member organizations including public agencies, private corporations, and academic institutions involved in the research, development, and deployment of technologies that improve safety, increase mobility, and sustain the environment. http:///www.itsa.org