Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS) are widely relied on for agency operations and need to be accurate and reliable to the end of their lifecycle given maintenance and funding limitations. ENTERPRISE members are interested in understanding how RWIS solutions (specifically to support ITS and operations) available from different vendors differ in terms of accuracy, reliability, and costs. This effort seeks to understand the accuracy, reliability, and cost tradeoffs of deployed RWIS solutions by documenting available RWIS solutions, reviewing available documentation of RWIS asset management, and surveying state DOT practitioners, with an emphasis on RWIS supporting ITS solutions.
Current
Truck Parking Technologies
A challenge facing many departments of transportation is demand for truck parking. Related to this, truck parking on roadway shoulder or “No Parking” areas is a safety issues. There have been multiple projects related to automatically monitoring truck parking availability and communicating this information to vehicles approaching the area to plan their stops. The purpose of this project is to understand the status of truck parking detection technologies and the options available, explore new concepts for detecting parked vehicles, and understand the use of data to support safe efficient truck movement.
Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
A number of ITS products and approaches have used “machine learning” for decades, however recent AI products and increased availability of AI have increased use cases for AI. ENTERPRISE members are interested in learning more about how AI is (and will be) applied to transportation and understanding the potential uses, benefits, and challenges of AI at a high level. This project is reviewing existing literature and input from transportation agencies to document the evolving role of AI to the delivery of ITS solutions, including formal products and services using AI; use of informal AI access (e.g., Chat GPT); challenges and risks of AI; and potential impact areas of AI on transportation use of ITS.
Alternative Methods of Traffic Data Analysis
There are different methods for analyzing traffic data. Newer traffic data collection produces a lot of data that needs to be analyzed and some state departments of transportation are hiring data scientists and AI specialists for data analysis. The objective of this project is to understand different methods for analyzing traffic data.
Defining and Advancing Digital Infrastructure
The Roadway Digital Infrastructure (RDI) is performing an increasing role in transportation operations. FHWA has an ongoing effort to develop a national strategy for RDI that was discussed at TRB 2023 and 2024. The objectives of this project are to allow ENTERPRISE members to come to a common definition of RDI, engage members to step through and interpret the national RDI definition and strategy for RDI, and to identify near-term activities members might take to begin to implement supporting system for RDI.
Uncontrolled Pedestrian Crossing ITS Countermeasures
As the number of pedestrian traffic fatalities continues to climb in the United States, transportation engineers seek guidance to implement countermeasures to address this issue. A number of ITS treatments are available for deployment at uncontrolled pedestrian crossings. ENTERPRISE members are interested in guidance for applying ITS treatments to improve pedestrian safety, particularly at uncontrolled pedestrian crossing locations and uncontrolled (e.g., midblock) locations. This study will document current guidance for ITS treatments at uncontrolled pedestrian crossings and identifying gaps in guidance.