Cross-cutting Issues

Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication is currently a focus of research and standardization in the USA, Europe and Asia. It is believed that V2V safety applications are able to reduce traffic fatalities significantly. Data security was identified as a major technical aspect to resolve before potential deployment. In particular, communication security and privacy are main aspects to consider but also physical security of the microcontroller, key injection, privacy mechanisms implemented by government agencies, and policy questions around security. This article provides an overview of the current state and of open issues.

Author: André Weimerskirch

Presented at the 18th World Congress on ITS, October 2011, Orlando, Florida

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently began an initiative to improve roadway safety by preventing distracted driving. To explore the efficacy of this goal, this research explores ways to encourage drivers to use their phone in a safe manner (i.e., refrain from using “texting” applications while driving). An engineering prototype was developed that limits phone applications that are available while the vehicle is in motion. The prototype uses a driver identification system to identify drivers based on their cell phone and intelligently limits driver access to phone applications without affecting passenger phones.

Authors: Donald K. Grimm, Shih-Ken Chen, Bakhtiar B. Litkouhi

Presented at the 18th World Congress on ITS, October 2011, Orlando, Florida

Accurate and reliable travel time prediction enables both user and system controller to be well informed of the future conditions on roadways, so that pre-trip plans and traffic control strategies can be made accordingly. This paper studies short-time travel time prediction for stochastic freeway applications using real time Bluetooth travel time data. A set of four prediction models including Historical average, ARIMA, Kalman filter and K-nearest neighbors are implemented. A modified nonparametric model KNN-T is proposed which will enhance the traditional KNN model with trend adjustment. Performances of each model from case studies are investigated and reported.

Authors: Wenxin Qiao, Ali Haghani, Masoud Hamedi

Presented at the 18th World Congress on ITS, October 2011, Orlando, Florida

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is providing wireless Internet access for
travelers using WiFi and satellite services installed at four Welcome Centers and aboard a
mobile trailer. The mobile WiFi trailer was originally developed to evaluate traveler interest
in the FDOT providing wireless internet access at rest areas. The system went online in mid-
2008 and the indications are that it is popular with travelers, having supported nearly 100,000
log-ins as of mid 2011. The mobile WiFi trailer has seen its usefulness expand beyond
providing WiFi at rest areas with the onboard additions of remote access surveillance
cameras, a weather station, and voice radio systems. Since installing those features, the
mobile WiFi trailer has become a powerful emergency management tool that has supported a
public safety training exercise and the FDOT response to the declared state of emergency
during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Authors: Randy Pierce, Brian Kopp, Ph.D.

Presented at the 18th World Congress on ITS, October 2011, Orlando, Florida

The necessity to be able to „see‟ what is happening, makes video an essential component of any ITS system. As such, bandwidth and video format requirements along with distribution methods have long been a critical component in the design of a traffic management system. As traffic management systems have become more evolved and key to not only DOT operations, but also partner agencies, emergency responders, and the public, and even in commercial applications, the ability to collect, transport, and distribute video across a range of networks and systems, is now even more necessary. In the past, the need to provide and share video across multiple platforms both internal and external often resulted in deciding either to limit or not share video. In To overcome these, the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) has turned to the use of Media Servers combined with the latest compression technology (H.264), eliminating the need for a complex multicast network while allowing for ultimate sharing and a significant reduction in both the systems‟ physical and carbon footprint. This paper will focus on this recent video distribution implementation at MDOT that has made distributing video across networks, systems, and multiple platforms easier, cheaper, and more efficient.

Authors: Ranzy Whiticker, Tim Bean, Laura Evans

Presented at the 18th World Congress on ITS, October 2011, Orlando, Florida