Truck Intellidrive

Please come back often for program updates!

• Safety Workshop
• Mobility Workshop (coming soon)
• Environment Workshop (coming soon)

The IntelliDriveSM Program is a major initiative of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration’s (RITA) Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Program, in collaboration with NHTSA, FMCSA, and FHWA. The IntelliDriveSM program is expected to provide significant benefits in the form of Safety, Mobility, and Environmental improvements to the transportation system by introducing dynamic wireless communications among vehicles and infrastructure. To fully quantify these benefits, and to illuminate services that could add value to commercial truck and bus operations, the TIMTC is collaborating with a number of stakeholders, including the U.S. DOT, CVSA, and AASHTO, to produce a series of workshops focused on the IntelliDriveSM program.

The first workshop, focused on Safety, was held in conjunction with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) Workshop, scheduled for April 21 in San Antonio, TX. The U.S. Department of Transportation, along with the Trucking Industry Mobility and Technology Coalition (TIMTC) facilitated an IntelliDriveSM for Commercial Vehicles Workshop focused on significantly improving safety by advancing connectivity among vehicles and roadway infrastructure.

The second and third workshops, focused on Mobility and the Environment, respectively, will be held later in the summer. Details on these workshops will be distributed as they become available. The IntelliDriveSM workshop series will be open to all attendees and has been structured to be a hands-on interactive dialogue between government and industry. For more information on IntelliDriveSM, go to www.intellidriveusa.org.

What Is IntelliDriveSM?

IntelliDriveSM is a multimodal initiative that aims to enable safe, interoperable networked wireless communications among vehicles, the infrastructure, and passengers' personal communications devices. IntelliDriveSM research is being sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and others to leverage the potentially transformative capabilities of wireless technology to make surface transportation safer, smarter and greener. USDOT research is supporting the development and testing of IntelliDriveSM technologies and applications, to determine their potential benefits and costs. If successfully deployed, IntelliDriveSM will ultimately enhance the safety, mobility and quality of life of all Americans, while helping to reduce the environmental impact of surface transportation.

How Does IntelliDriveSM deliver networked connectivity?

IntelliDriveSM applications provide connectivity:

• Among vehicles to enable crash prevention;
• Between vehicles and the infrastructure to enable safety, mobility and environmental benefits; and
• Among vehicles, infrastructure, and wireless devices to provide continuous real-time connectivity to all system users.

Like the Internet, which provides information connectivity, IntelliDriveSM provides a starting point for transportation connectivity. IntelliDriveSM has the potential to enable countless applications and spawn new industries. Today we can see only the tip of the iceberg.

What types of IntelliDriveSM applications are being developed?

IntelliDriveSM is envisioned to ultimately encompass safety applications, mobility applications, and environmental applications.

IntelliDriveSM safety applications would enable vehicles to have 360-degree awareness to inform a vehicle operator of hazards and situations they can't see. IntelliDriveSM safety applications have the potential to reduce crashes through advisories and warnings. For instance, vehicle operators may be advised of a school zone; sharp ramp curve; or slippery patch of roadway ahead. Drivers could also be advised of the presence of IntelliDriveSM-equipped bicycles and pedestrians around them, which would enhance the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists as well as motorists. Warnings could be provided more imminent crash situations, such as during merging operations put vehicles on a collision path, or when vehicle ahead stops suddenly.

IntelliDriveSM mobility applications are intended to provide a connected, data-rich travel environment based on information transmitted anonymously from thousands of vehicles that are using the transportation system at a particular time. This information could help transportation managers monitor and manage transportation system performance – for example, by adjusting traffic signals, transit operations, or dispatching maintenance crews or emergency services. This information could also help transportation agencies and fleet operators to manage crews and use resources as efficiently as possible.

Providing travelers with real-time information about traffic congestion and other travel conditions helps them make more informed decisions that can reduce the environmental impact of their trip. Informed travelers may decide to avoid congestion by taking alternate routes or public transit, or by rescheduling their trip — all of which can make their trip more fuel-efficient and eco-friendly. The ability for vehicles to "talk to" the infrastructure could provide information to the vehicle operator so that he/she can drive through a traffic signal network at optimum speeds to reduce stopping. Many transportation management activities that enhance mobility, by reducing vehicle idling due to traffic congestion, also potentially reduce emissions.

For more information, click here.