Abstract
Transportation policy studies and improved planning are essential for furthering goals of the University Transportation Centers and the US Department of Transportation. This project is intended to build upon long-standing and successful activities in these areas. Three tasks are envisioned. First, a database design and tracking process for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) progress in the United States will be devised. This activity will be undertaken in partnership with ITS America. Second, research on safety policy improvements for battery electric vehicles will be initiated with the goal of producing a new policy brief on this topic. Audiences will be USDOT, USDOE and State officials. Safety concerns of interest include battery fires, vehicle sound, and vehicle weight. Third, project participants will continue to work with Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC) in the planning for Pennsylvania Safety Transportation and Research Track (PennStart). PennStart will be a $ 22M state funded transportation technology testing and traffic incident management training center in the Pittsburgh region. Connecting Pittsburgh and PennStart is a 'Smart Corridor' that will also be used for testing in the real world. PennStart capital expenditures will be used for project match. Carnegie Mellon researchers will include Chris Hendrickson (Hamerschlag University Professor of Engineering Emeritus), Corey Harper (Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering), and Heather Cain (Research Administrator Civil and Environmental Engineering). The new Executive Director of Safety21 Center will be asked to participate as well. This project builds upon successful synthesis and policy projects undertaken with Mobility21 UTC funding that have resulted in six policy briefs, professional papers and numerous public presentations.
Description
Timeline
Strategic Description / RD&T
This project addresses critical issues identified in the U.S. DOT RD&T Strategic Plan (FY 2022-2026)–Building a Better Transportation Future for All on page 16: (1) Vehicle and aircraft safety, automation, and connectivity, (2) Safety infrastructure
countermeasures and (3) Safety risk analysis methods. The project focuses upon the safety and intelligent vehicle systems goals of the Safety21 University Transportation Center.
Deployment Plan
Quarter 1: ITS progress database design and data sources identification completed. Planning for deployment of the database will continue with ITS America. Actual coding and population of the database is expected to be done by ITS America and its partners since the database itself will be proprietary. Interaction on planning for PennStart construction will continue.
Quarter 2: Background research on battery electric vehicle safety will begin, focusing on fire risks, charging standards, and crash data. Interaction on planning for PennStart construction with RiDC and on the ITS progress database with ITS America will continue.
Quarter 3: Preliminary work on a professional paper on ev safety policy will begin. Interaction on planning for PennStart construction with RiDC and on the ITS progress database with ITS America will continue.
Quarter 4: Profesional paper on ev safety policy will be submitted for review. Interaction on planning for PennStart construction with RiDC and on the ITS progress database with ITS America will continue.
Expected Outcomes/Impacts
This project will have a variety of outcomes and impacts:
1. Designing the database and data sources for ITS progress lays the foundation for a unique and widely useful tool to provide reports on ITS progress.
2. Aiding the implementation of PennStart could help transform the state of use for automated and connected vehicles as well as emergency personnel training.
3. As the numbers of electric vehicles in use grow, safety concerns associated with this novel drive train will become more important and pressing. Professional papers and policy briefs can inform decision makers and researchers about pathways to help achieve safety goals such as zero roadway fatalities.
Expected Outputs
Outputs will include:
1. A report on the Design of a database and data sources lays the foundation for a unique and widely useful tool to provide reports on ITS progress.
2. Aiding the implementation of PennStart to help transform the state of use for CAV and emergency personnel training.
3. As the numbers of electric vehicles in use grow, safety concerns associated with this novel drive train will become more important and pressing. A Professional paper and policy brief will inform decision makers and researchers about options to improve bev safety..Conference presentation of the work is also expected.
TRID
A TRID search for research projects was conducted for each of the project tasks.
First, a search with the keywords 'Intelligent Transportation Systems Progress Database' found no relevant projects. To the knowledge of the researchers and ITS America partners, no other tracking system for US ITS progress exists.
Second, a search with the keywords 'battery electric vehicle safety' was conducted and identified 8 relevant projects. A file is attached with the project descriptions. Two of these projects focus on buses and low speed vehicles which are not primery for this project. Others focus on niche technologies such as battery fault detection. Others are general projects on electric vehicle adoption or training. The most relevant project is 'EVERSAFE - Everyday Safety of Electric Vehicles' which is underway by German and Swiss researchers. Notably, none of these projects have a focus on US policy options for electric vehicles.
Third, a search using the keywords 'autonomous vehicle test track' found one project about use of a virtual reality environment to augment physical testing which is not part of Penn Start. This project is also included in the TRID search document. Numerous other autonomous vehicle testing tracks and training facilities exist across the country, such as the MCity track in Michigan. Penn Start will differ in its Pennsylvania location serving a tri-state area, incorporation of an interstate speed section, and provisions for drone testing.
We conclude that our proposed project is substantially different from existing research efforts.
Individuals Involved
| Email |
Name |
Affiliation |
Role |
Position |
| hcain@andrew.cmu.edu |
Cain, Heather |
CIT-CEE |
Other |
Staff - Business Manager |
| cdharper@andrew.cmu.edu |
Harper, Corey |
Carnegie Mellon University |
Co-PI |
Faculty - Untenured, Tenure Track |
| cth@cmu.edu |
Hendrickson, Chris |
Carnegie Mellon School of Engineering |
PI |
Faculty - Tenured |
| bethannh@andrew.cmu.edu |
Hockenberry, Beth |
Carnegie Mellon University |
Other |
Staff - Business Manager |
Budget
Amount of UTC Funds Awarded
$98000.00
Total Project Budget (from all funding sources)
$200000.00
Documents
Match Sources
No match sources!
Partners
| Name |
Type |
| ITS America |
Deployment & Equity Partner Deployment & Equity Partner |
| RIDC |
Deployment & Equity Partner Deployment & Equity Partner |
