Development and deployment of smart infrastructure and the application of advanced technologies in transportation are accelerating rapidly, especially in regard to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) IntelliDrive initiative. The DOT, in collaboration with automakers, researchers, and the transportation industry, is leveraging today’s information and communications technologies to create the next generation transportation system. Using advanced wireless communications, vehicles will soon be connected with one another and with the infrastructure to unveil revolutionary applications that will reshape transportation. Enabling technologies include 5.9 GHz Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC), 4G cellular, and satellite communications, along with new standards for fast, secure transactions and evolving on-board and roadside equipment.

IntelliDrive has the potential to reduce traffic crashes dramatically, enhance mobility, and improve air quality. A notice of rulemaking will be issued in 2013 to establish the regulatory basis for initial IntelliDrive applications.

Safety will be the focus for initial deployment. However, as soon as vehicles are equipped with the enabling technologies, it will be only a matter of time before hundreds of other possible applications will become available. We have already seen the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad. Soon, we will see the “iCar,” the “iTruck” and the “iBus.” It will be like the Internet on wheels. It’s possible that many of the enabling technologies, accessories, and applications will be developed primarily through the aftermarket, thus creating a new industry related to connected vehicles.

Beyond safety, vehicle probe data and on-board signage may be some of the first applications introduced. Imagine how mobility and safety could be enhanced by linking vehicles with the infrastructure. Vehicle speeds, headings, and location data can be used for corridor management and new mobility applications. By tapping the vehicle’s diagnostic port, data also can be retrieved regarding rough road surface conditions, icy road and bridge surfaces, windshield wiper status, and air temperatures. This data may be sent to highway agencies for maintenance purposes.

Finally, as concerns grow about the environment and the use of carbon-based fuels, IntelliDrive offers another set of tools to improve air quality. Vehicle idling will be reduced or eliminated through a connection between vehicles and traffic signals. Plus, IntelliDrive offers an alternative to outmoded fuel taxes to facilitate more equitable pay-by-mile user fees that are consistent with national environmental policy.

Tremendous progress will be seen over the next decade. The DOT is aggressively pushing its IntelliDrive research agenda to overcome technical and policy-related issues. A systems engineering project will soon be underway to define the technical requirements, standards, and the system architecture for the national IntelliDrive program. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials recently kicked off an IntelliDrive Deployment Planning study to identify and analyze various deployment scenarios for IntelliDrive infrastructure and related applications. Federally sponsored test beds are being expanded and enhanced to move beyond proof-of-concept. All of these activities are running on parallel paths that will converge within the next five to 10 years.

More information about IntelliDrive is available at www.intellidriveusa.org

Jim Barbaresso is vice president and national ITS practice leader for HNTB.