Commercial Operations

Through this operational test, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) hopes to determine whether a newly developed low-cost active railroad crossing warning systemfunctions as well as traditional active system at low-volume highway-railroad intersections; andto determine whether the low cost system’s addition of flashers on advance rail warning signsprovides any additional benefits.The high level requirements and much of the design are complete. Six months of system analysisand testing has shown many functions to operate as required but has also raised a few questions.  The system is being modified to address these concerns and further analysis and testing will beconducted in the late summer of 2003.  Project activities are currently focused on failure modesand effects analysis, hazard analysis, and system validation.  The project team is working closelywith the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in performing the system safety validation.   Field tests indicate crossing warning times in the 27 to 28 second range regardless of train speed.  The system demonstrated the ability to properly detect a train that stops on the approach and theneither proceeds or backs away.   During a 33 day mid-project evaluation, the system performed without failure in 493 trainencounters.  Warning times were within the range of 25 to 30 seconds 98.9% of time and allwarning times were 20 seconds or greater. The system accurately tracked daily train movementsand maintained global positioning system (GPS) communication at 99.76%.  The independentevaluator will conduct another evaluation that encompasses the whole project period includingthe forthcoming one year operational test.   If successful, this newly developed low-cost system offers the opportunity to install activewarning systems at 15% the cost of traditional systems.  Such a development would significantly increase the number of crossings equipped with active systems.  By leveraging emerging technologies, rail crossing safety may soon be provided at a cost previously thought unthinkable. Minnesota Department of Transportation

SRF Consulting Group Inc.

URS Inc.

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, April 26 - 28, 2004 San Antonio, Texas

The advent of cable modems conforming to the Data Over Cable System Interface
Specification (DOCSIS) has created an ever-increasing communications infrastructure,
not only for the typical homeowner, but also for the homeowner supporting a Small
Office Home Office (SOHO) and for other small businesses.
The use of DOCSIS cable modems can also be extended to support communications of
traffic data to provide enhancements to existing communications methods.  Tests are
currently being conducted at the City of Fort Worth Traffic Management Center (TMC)
using commercial grade and extended temperature grade DOCSIS cable modems to
characterize communications performance parameters and to identify system
constraints.
Whether for the homeowner, the business community, or a TMC, security measures are
vital to ensuring data integrity.  This paper will provide an overview of the Community
Antenna Television (CATV) system and the cable network infrastructure.  In addition, a
description of the DOCSIS cable modems and how they are being used in a novel
approach to transmit traffic data will be presented.  Finally, an overview will be provided
describing the tests being conducted by the City of Fort Worth using the CATV and
DOCSIS cable modems and the security measures that should be considered when
using DOCSIS cable modems within the CATV cable network to provide transmission of
traffic data.

Southwest Research Institute

The City of Fort Worth

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, April 26 - 28, 2004 San Antonio, Texas

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has contracted with the
University at Kentucky and General Dynamics to develop the CVO Safety System, an innovation
that increases commercial vehicle safety and fleet efficiency through the use of on-board
monitoring and reporting technology. This program has developed a brake stroke sensor to
monitor the status of pneumatic brakes and is integrated with automatic vehicle location and
vehicle network communication to help fleet managers assess the safety of their trucks while in
operation. Additionally, the CVO Safety System provides automated crash detection through use of the General Dynamics Crash Detection Algorithm (CDA). Since the CDA was based on
passenger car dynamics, the Algorithm must be modified for use with commercial vehicle
dynamics. The acceleration threshold levels must be set low enough to detect a crash and yet
high enough to prevent false alarms.

General Dynamics

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, April 26 - 28, 2004 San Antonio, Texas

This paper describes  in detail  some of the essentials of the  Ethernet  standard, common
misconceptions of the technology, and key issues that need to be addressed prior to deployment of it for  Intelligent Transportation Systems.  Since Ethernet is the most prevalent networking standard in the world today due to its flexibility, reliability and cost effectiveness, it is these same features that have made Ethernet a solid choice for many ITS communications networks being implemented in the new millennium.  However, there are certain portions of the standard that are actually constraining for ITS networks, but innovative techniques and methods of implementation enable ITS engineers to maintain compliance with the standard while accommodating the  rigorous  demands of ITS communications networks.  Some of these constraints include transmission distances, the CSMA/CD algorithm, and the fact that many ITS field devices are not “Ethernet-ready”, or Ethernet devices are not “ITS ready”.   Another constraining factor includes the lack of environmental, shock and vibration  tolerance for outdoor applications with most Ethernet gear.  Cities such as San Francisco, California, Orlando, Florida and Arlington, Texas are utilizing it for their new city-wide ITS networks, and many others are considering it as part of their ITS Master Plans.

DKS Associates

City and County of San Francisco

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, April 26 - 28, 2004 San Antonio, Texas

An evaluation that measured driver acceptance of the Enhanced Object Detection System
(EODS) for transit bus side proximity warning was performed in conjunction with a 100-
day Field Operational Test (FOT), conducted during April to July 2003 on buses
equipped with Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI) technology, at the Harmar Division of
the Port Authority of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh metropolitan area).  
The EODS technology was designed as a driver assistive tool to provide bus drivers with
information about detected objects in close proximity to their vehicles.  The objects of
primary concern are other vehicles and stationary obstacles during in-service operations
such as close-maneuvering situations, slow speed turns, lane change and merge
situations.

Battelle Memorial Institute

CJI Research Corporation

Transportation Resource Associates, Inc.

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, April 26 - 28, 2004 San Antonio, Texas