Cross-cutting Issues

Accurate real-time positioning, i.e. at the lane level, is a big challenge for a lot of advanced
driver assistance systems (ADAS) under study or development. To reach the sub-meter
accuracy necessary for the lane discrimination, the best from the existing technologies and
state-of-the-art data fusion algorithms must be used, keeping in mind that the final
commercial solution will have to be available at an acceptable price for the customer. In the
frame of the European project CVIS, the LCPC is addressing this issue and this paper presents
the choices that have been made: EGNOS (the European WAAS) for the main positioning
technology, a new model of enhanced digital maps compliant with the lane-level objective
and an innovative particle filter proposed by the LCPC team to merge sensor and map data
into a unique positioning and map-matching process.

Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, November 16-20, 2008, New York, New York

Access to high quality information is a prerequisite for efficient transport systems. Current
architectures are mainly based on public authority service providers engaged in the full chain
of the service; from data collection to distribution of information to end users. As transport
demand becomes more complex, information needs become more complex. The paper discuss
the use of third party information brokers/data warehouse operators for data collection and
data fusion, and further distribution to end service providers. All operations will be made on
commercial conditions, and examples are provided where this is operational. Such
organisations will also be natural hosts for standards, a role that is not suitable for public
authorities.

SWECO ITS

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, November 16-20, 2008, New York, New York

Under SAFETEA-LU, Congress directed the United States Department of Transportation
(U.S. DOT) to prepare a “Rural Interstate Corridor Communications Study”. The purpose of
the study was to articulate the “feasibility of installing fiber optic cabling and wireless
communication infrastructure along multistate Interstate System route corridors for improved
communications services to rural communities along such corridors”. Three rural corridors, I-
90, I-91, and I-20, were analyzed to determine the feasibility to implement high speed
telecommunications. Understanding the viewpoints of both the Private Sector and State DOT
requires an understanding the both industries. Opportunities may still exist for hybrid
solutions to bring the private sector to the table for discussion with public agencies in
resource sharing programs.

Cambridge Systematics, Inc.

Federal Highway Administration

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, November 16-20, 2008, New York, New York

The richness of video data makes the camera in many ways the ultimate sensor. The potential of
gaining so much contextual information makes camera networks a compelling solution to today’s
traffic management needs. Cameras have become so prevalent in metropolitan living primarily
because, for those tasked with traffic management or law enforcement, actually being able to
investigate a scene as events unfold provides greater context as opposed to looking at dots or
exclamation marks on a map. Network managers and operators are most effective when can see the full extent of what is happening so they can prioritize and react with the most efficient use of limited resources. This paper assesses the current uses for traffic data and projects its potential to effectively mitigate congestion and improve performance. The paper compares this potential to the benefits of using digital video to prove performance, increase safety, assist traffic enforcement and criminal investigations, and reduce fuel consumption and travel times.

MetroTech Partners, LLC

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, November 16-20, 2008, New York, New York

Reliable, timely, and quality data delivered in real-time and used to produce meaningful
performance measures is the lifeblood of the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
industry, and more generally, of transport itself. In the not distant past such data was
collected and used primarily by public operators of the transportation system, and
occasionally shared with the media and others to provide a snapshot of travel conditions.
Increasingly today, data is being collected and processed by private entities, often using new,
more cost effective technologies. Modern conventional wisdom is that this trend will likely
continue. However with this transition come several critical policy issues that relate not only
to the data, but also the access to this data, and the ability to use the data more broadly to
make the transport system more efficient and thereby the economy more productive. This
paper considers a concept that may solve the business model conundrum. The conundrum
arises from the need to simultaneously provide the means to get good data, cover all the
associated costs, and share the data so that its impact is more universally felt in the resulting
efficiency of individual, commercial, and operational decisions as to when, how, and where
transportation services are delivered and used.

Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC)

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, November 16-20, 2008, New York, New York