The objective of this research was to develop a Connected/Automated Vehicle Research Roadmap addressing the policy, planning, and implementation issues that will face state and local transportation agencies. The roadmap should consider the implications of CV/AV technologies for the various segments of the traveling public (e.g., passenger cars, trucks, transit vehicles, emergency vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians) and for agency fleets. Consideration should be given to CV technologies that are not based on the Dedicated Short Range Communication band.
AVAILABILITY
Connected/Automated Vehicle Research Roadmap--The contractor's final version of the research roadmap has been approved by the panel. It is expected that this roadmap will be of interest to those conducting research on connected vehicle and automated vehicle issues. This roadmap will also serve to inform the work that will be done in
NCHRP Project 20-102 though the panel for that project will have full discretion to amend it as they see fit.
PowerPoint Presentations (
Executive,
Medium, and
Long Versions) were developed to present the roadmap to various audiences.
Recommendations for maintaining the roadmap were also developed and are being used by NCHRP Staff.
BACKGROUND
Connected and automated vehicles have organizational as well as technical implications for state and local transportation agencies. Levels of automation range from intelligent, adaptive cruise controls up to fully automated, driverless vehicles (See
NHTSA’s Preliminary Statement of Policy Concerning Automated Vehicles). Fully automated, driverless vehicles can be either autonomous or connected to each other and the infrastructure. Automated vehicles that are connected to the infrastructure have specific implications for how public agencies either accommodate or direct future trends in deployment of automated vehicles. The existence of autonomous vehicles (i.e., those that are not connected to the infrastructure) pose even greater challenges to traffic managers.
Highway network and transportation system planning, design, maintenance, and operations functions are all likely to require adaptation to meet technical, policy, and legal expectations of this changing road user fleet. This adaptation will affect technical standards, business and engineering processes, performance measurement and management, workforce and professional development, organizational structure and staffing, and agency information technology models. A CV/AV Research Roadmap is needed to define and address critical organizational and institutional issues for state and local transportation agencies in order to expedite the transportation system’s accommodation of these vehicle technologies.
The AASHTO Connected Vehicle Strategic Plan was completed in 2009, and a subsequent Infrastructure Deployment Analysis was completed in 2011. The latter noted the need for an Information Exchange Forum, and a Connected Vehicle Education & Outreach Program, among other nationwide institutional initiatives. Also as recommended by the 2011 Analysis, the Federal Highway Administration and AASHTO are in the process of completing a Connected Vehicle “Footprint Analysis” to continue to quantify roadway infrastructure costs and other prospective impacts. The National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is expected to issue agency decisions over the next two years affecting Dedicated Short Range Communications system expectations for light and heavy vehicles, and the Federal Highway Administration intends to develop Connected Vehicle infrastructure guidance beginning in 2015.
Google, Nissan, and General Motors have all stated corporate goals to have automated vehicles for sale, some as early as 2017. A fully autonomous “driverless” vehicle could be on the market by 2025. Lane departure warning systems, “blind spot” monitoring and alerts, and automated cruise control based on distance from the vehicle in front rather than speed are autonomous vehicle technologies already available. Mercedes, Ford and others market automobiles that offer integrated partial automation at speeds under 25 miles per hour. Several states already have regulations in place that allow automated vehicles to operate.
